Our Life In D Major
by Hikari Kaitou
Summary: PrussiaxAustria, domestic fluff oneshots.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I was having a bit of trouble figuring out how to proceed with my latest GerIta fill on the kink meme and decided to try writing a different pairing in hopes of getting myself out of my rut. The request for this fic was a bit long but it basically boiled down to this: I want to see a typically antagonistic couple enjoying a surprisingly sweet and loving domestic life together. A pairing involving Prussia would be nice since I can't picture him in this kind of relationship.

I think I pulled it off alright. There are actually more parts to this, but I thought this was the strongest one. I guess I'd post the others here as well if people are interested, though they're nothing special really. Enjoy!

* * *

It was about four-thirty in the afternoon when Prussia returned to his and Austria's home after having made a general pest of himself at Germany's place. Even though he and his brother no longer lived together, he still felt the need to go over and check up on him once in a while. Germany may give off the impression of being thoroughly self-efficient, but the truth was that he still needed some mothering once in a while. The poor little guy still didn't realize that if he wanted to bang Italy, hinting and beating around the bush wasn't going to get him anywhere. Italy was adorable but clueless; one needed to be straightforward and firm when dealing with him.

That was why Prussia had to give his silly little brother a push in the right direction. Italy and Germany would come home from their picnic in the park to find rope, handcuffs, lube and a copy of the Kama Sutra on the table waiting for them, along with a note in big, bold, unambiguous letters which read: _Italy, West (Germany) really, really wants to have sex with you; he just doesn't know how to say so. This stuff is for you kids to use. Enjoy! Prussia._ Prussia grinned to himself as he imagined how grateful the two of them would be the next time they met. They would praise him on their knees. Man, he was an awesome brother.

He was a bit disappointed to find the house so silent and seemingly empty when he got there. Prussia had been hoping to come home to a kitchen filled with the scent of freshly baked strawberry tarts with whipped cream, and Austria preparing the next batch to be put into the oven, his dress shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a streak of powdered sugar across his cheek. He checked the kitchen just to be sure, but it was disappointingly Austria-free. Just as he was about to pout, the piano in Austria's music room flared to life, its deep, rich singing voice filling the air with an expertly honed beauty that only Austria could coax from it.

Prussia smiled to himself and made his way to the music room. He was willing to forgive the lack of strawberry desserts to greet him if Austria was gracing him with his music instead. Sure enough when he entered the music room, Austria was seated at his piano, his body rocking gently in time with the music. Prussia recognized the piece and grinned: Beethoven's Fifth Sonata for Violin and Piano in F Major. Perfect.

He approached his lover silently from behind, his heartbeat speeding up slightly as he watched Austria's impossibly slender and graceful fingers dance over the keys. As far as Austria's physical features went, Prussia would have to say that those beautiful fingers of his were high on his list of favorites. Goosebumps popped up all over his skin as he allowed their movements to mesmerize him. He was gripped with the sudden urge to wrap his arms around Austria's slim waist, bury his face in the crook of his pale neck and smother that soft skin with kisses. Austria's music often had this effect on him. Prussia resisted with difficulty, knowing that if he did that Austria would become distracted and the music would stop. He didn't want that.

Austria's movements as he played became more dramatic and fluid, a soft smile spreading across his lips. Prussia felt what had previously been a fairly mild warmth uncoiling below his waist growing hotter. Anyone else might have mistaken Austria's actions just now for a musician getting sinking deeper into his music as the piece progressed, but Prussia, as his lover, recognized it immediately for what it really was. Austria was trying to make him hot and bothered.

This was a game they sometimes played. Austria knew that Prussia found it attractive, the way he let his body become one with the music, and he played to that. Prussia wanted to hold and kiss him, to mess him up, to make him pant and moan with pleasure, but at the same time he didn't want to interrupt the music. The white-haired man would become increasingly turned on and frustrated, torn between two desires at once until he couldn't take it anymore and swept him off the piano bench to take him right there on the floor of the music room. Austria would reward him based on how long Prussia was able to hold off on his desires.

Prussia swallowed thickly, when Austria took advantage of a beat of rest in his music to loosen his cravat tantalizingly. He had only once managed to make it to the end of an entire piece before ravishing Austria when they played this game, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Prussia decided that he would be successful today; he just needed something to occupy his hands. Without saying a word, Prussia picked up the violin from the case against the wall. He wasn't quite as skilled in this area as Austria, but that didn't mean he was a novice. Actually, he was quite good.

Prussia took up his spot behind Austria again, frowning in concentration as he tried to ignore his growing arousal so that he could focus on the sheet music. He scanned the page for a moment, trying to find Austria's place and then waited for the right moment to jump in. The throaty, trembling hum of Prussia's violin joined Austria's lonely piano. If Prussia hadn't been busy reading the sheet music, he would have noticed the brief look of surprise on Austria's face at his lover suddenly joining in only to be replaced once again with a gentle smile that he very rarely displayed to anyone else.

As much as Austria loved to perform alone, he felt that the music took on a whole new meaning when Prussia was making it with him. Something about playing with Prussia was deeply sensual to him. He saw music as an extension of the soul, and when they created it together it was as if they were making love on a spiritual level. Though he would be lying to say he didn't deeply enjoy the physical aspects of their relationship, the spiritual lovemaking was so much more pure and meaningful in some ways and gave him the sense that their love had reached a depth that would be impossible without this experience. If someone had told him even a hundred years ago that he would someday enjoy such a fulfilling relationship with Prussia of all nations, he would have curtly replied that he would sooner strangle himself with his cravat. Now he felt as though a significant part of him might never even have been born if this relationship had never come to be.

Austria wrinkled his fine aristocratic nose as their musical foreplay was interrupted by a sour note. Prussia must nearly be at his breaking point if he was starting to make mistakes. Well, if it was just one little slip, Austria was willing to overlook it. No, there it happened again. And again. Irritated at the way his lover was killing the mood for him, Austria stopped and gave him an unimpressed look. Prussia frowned and lowered his violin, wondering why the music was stopping. There was only one reason that it should halt, and that was because he couldn't take the teasing anymore. He still had a little patience left in him.

"Why are we stopping?" Prussia demanded. "And what's that look for?"

"You hit not one, not two, but three wrong notes," Austria sniffed. "It rather ruins the mood."

"Hey, hey, I was playing perfectly," Prussia insisted. "The awesome me would never screw up in the middle of something like this!"

"Well it certainly wasn't me," Austria countered. "I would never make such a novice mistake!"

"Look, we were right here, right?" Prussia said, indicating where they had been playing when the mistake had been made. "D, C, D, E, F, E, E, rest, F, D sharp, F, F, G, rest, F, D sharp, F, G, A. That's what I played."

"I had E, F, G, A, E, C natural, E, F, G, A, E, C, A, G natural, A, B, C, D, E, D, B, A, B, E, C, B sharp, C," Austria read. "I played just that!"

Prussia was silent for a moment, then he let out a cackle. "You idiot! You screwed up the naturals for sharps and the sharps for naturals! Wow, you must feel so uncool right now, huh _maestro_?"

Austria looked flabbergasted by Prussia's audacity to even suggest such a thing. "Impossible! I…" He paused as he picked up the sheet music and brought it closer to his face, lifting up his glasses to get a better look at it. Prussia's shit-eating grin widened as Austria's face and ears turned a delicious shade of pink. The aristocrat cleared his throat quietly and set the sheet music back down, trying to retain some air of dignity even after his embarrassing mistake.

"Perhaps it's time to visit the optometrist again," he said quietly, his face still burning.

Prussia choked down the urge to laugh and tease him mercilessly. It was his natural instinct, but he was getting better at suppressing it now that he had fallen in love with Austria. He opted instead for quiet smugness as he set down the violin, plucked one of Austria's gorgeously long-fingered, manicured hands from the keyboard, pulled him to his feet and brought his hand to his mouth, kissing his fingertips slowly. A little shiver ran down Austria's spine.

"Now, because I'm the greatest boyfriend to ever grace this earth, I'm willing to forgive your mistake," Prussia breathed, pressing a kiss to the back of his hand. "But for blaming that mistake on the awesome me, well… you're going to have to _work_ for that forgiveness."

The low, soft, steady voice in which Prussia said these words, the fact that he could feel his warm breath caressing his fingers, and the kisses to his sensitive fingers immediately rekindled the amount of arousal that had faded with his mistake. Austria swallowed hard. "Never," he mumbled defiantly.

"Ooh, wrong answer, young master," Prussia laughed quietly. He came up behind Austria and grabbed his bottom, giving it a little squeeze. A tiny needy noise fought its way from Austria's throat as Prussia nibbled at the rim of his flushed ear. "I'll give you another chance, though. Get down and beg for my divine forgiveness."

"N-never," Austria stammered, sounding far less composed than he would have liked. The Prussian's hands had strayed to the front and were tracing teasing shapes on his thighs on either side of his steadily growing erection without granting him the satisfaction of touching it.

Prussia nipped at the side of his neck in retaliation for his contrariness before bringing his mouth back to his ear. "So the young master is determined to be difficult," he hissed. "In that case, I believe punishment is in order."

With that, he swept Austria off his feet and carted him off to the bedroom.

* * *

**A/N:** I apologize to any music nerds if I made any mistakes as far as the music goes. My musical knowledge is spotty at best.


	2. Chapter 2

Prussia paused his video game and looked down at Austria's mop of silky dark hair, which was resting against his shoulder, when the other man yawned quietly. It was Saturday night; the two of them had ordered in for dinner and watched an old musical while they ate. Prussia preferred action flicks to musicals, but he had been allowed to choose the restaurant so Austria had had his choice of movie. It hadn't been all bad, Prussia supposed. There had been a battle scene and some nudity, and he'd riffed on the boring parts. Austria hushed him frequently, but there had been a few parts in which his commentary had earned some carefully stifled laughter.

Once their movie had finished, Prussia had hooked up his X-box 360 to play some Assassin's Creed II. Austria had little interest in video games, but he'd stayed with him anyway for the company. Prussia had been playing for about three hours when Austria started to get sleepy. The white-haired man set his controller aside and switched off the TV with the remote before wrapping his arms around Austria's warm body and nuzzling a few kisses into his downy hair. Austria returned them lethargically along Prussia's neck.

"Wanna get ready for bed?" Prussia asked.

"I believe so," Austria replied.

Prussia stood and helped Austria to his feet, leading him into the bedroom. Austria made a small sound of annoyance when he saw their naked bed, realizing that the sheets were still in the dryer and that he would have to make the bed before they could use it. He parted ways with Prussia reluctantly as the other man began to strip off his clothes. Austria transferred the sheets from the dryer to the laundry basket and carried them back to the bedroom. As he entered, he noticed the sound of water running in the bathtub in the master bathroom. Prussia must be planning to take a bath before bed.

The idea of a nice long soak appealed to Austria too. He made quick work of the bed making before letting himself into the bathroom. Prussia was just getting into the deep tub which was full of steaming hot water and bubbles. A bright yellow rubber ducky floated on the surface, making Austria roll his eyes slightly. Prussia's fascination with little yellow birds was ridiculous sometimes. He was a grown man, for heaven's sake! If one were to point out the fact to Austria that he found this quality to be at least a little endearing, he would clear his throat and change the subject.

"I wondered if I might join you," he proposed.

"Sure," Prussia said easily as he leaned back and closed his eyes. "Come on in."

Prussia watched lazily as Austria undressed himself and set his glasses on the counter. He sat up to make room for him as he climbed in. Austria stretched out on top of his lover, resting his head back against his shoulder again. Prussia's arms curled around him, welcoming him. The two of them let out small sighs of relaxation almost in perfect unison. Rain pounded steadily against the roof outside, creating a pleasant contrast to their warm indoor haven. Austria brushed a tiny kiss to Prussia's jaw as he lay drowsily in his embrace.

Prussia picked up a wash cloth that was folded on the ledge of the bathtub, dipped it in the warm, bubbly water and began to rub gently at Austria's slender neck, cleaning in round, surprisingly tender strokes. Austria tilted his head back to allow him easier access, a small smile tugging at his lips when Prussia kissed the corner of his mouth. Prussia's washcloth worked its way downwards unhurriedly, across his chest, under his arms, over his stomach. Austria's already steam-warmed cheeks flushed a bit more deeply as his lover's hand slipped between his legs to wash him in lingering caresses. He let out a sleepy little hum of approval.

When Prussia was done washing Austria's body, he repositioned them in the tub so that he could lean Austria's head back and wet his hair. The dark-haired man peered out from under his heavy eyelids to see Prussia squeezing a little shampoo into the palm of his hand, then closed them again to prevent the soap from getting in. Prussia's steady, confident fingers slipped into his soaking hair and began to massage and scratch lightly at his scalp, drawing another little hum from him. He was mercifully careful with Mariazell, which he knew Austria didn't like people touching. The Austrian didn't mind it so much when it was Prussia. Actually, when Prussia kneaded gently at the root of it, it felt pretty good. Austria was disappointed when Prussia finished, giving his own hair a quick scrub before washing away the shampoo.

Once Prussia was satisfied that Austria was properly clean, he relaxed against the back wall of the tub again, holding his lover in comfortable silence as he let his own eyes slip closed. Prussia dozed for a few minutes in the warm water and his boyfriend's pleasurable companionship and Austria did the same, his forehead resting against the side of Prussia's neck. It wasn't until the water started to go cold that Prussia woke again. He roused Austria when he sat up slowly.

"Hey, you awake?" Prussia asked groggily.

"No," Austria mumbled without opening his eyes. "I'm afraid I'm dead asleep. There's no waking me now."

"There is if I dunk your head under water," Prussia said mischievously.

"But you won't," Austria replied certainly. The times where Prussia might have made good on that threat were well over and they both knew it.

"Hmph, I might," Prussia retaliated weakly before kissing Austria's lips, "just to put your poncy aristocratic ass in its place."

"In which case I would withhold sex for no less than one week," Austria assured him calmly, still refusing to open his eyes.

"Alright, it was a joke. Jeez," Prussia grumbled, shifting Austria's weight in his arms so that he could stand with him. "No need to get so hostile."

Austria couldn't resist another little smile at this, opening his eyes at last to look up at Prussia who was carrying him to the counter where their towels were waiting for them. He wasn't quite in focus without his glasses, but he could see him well enough. To his immense satisfaction, Prussia's cheeks pinked slightly at the sight of Austria's affectionate smile being aimed at him. Prussia huffed as he sat him down on the counter and wrapped Austria's towel around his shoulders before quickly turning his back on him to hide the fact that his face was growing even redder in response to Austria's increased attention. Sometimes Prussia surprised him, even now, with how cute he was capable of being.

The two of them got dressed in their sleepwear, Austria in a pair of simple cotton pajamas and Prussia in his boxer shorts and white tank top. Prussia made for the bed, but Austria grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"Your hair is wet," Austria informed him.

"Great thing about wet hair," Prussia yawned unconcernedly, "it dries. You don't even have to do anything to it."

"Don't be a fool," Austria said, a hint of affection creeping into his voice. "You'll catch cold."

"C'mon, young master," Prussia groused. "Give me more credit than that. The awesome me isn't such a pansy that I'd get sick from something stupid like that."

Austria was already digging out the hairdryer and a comb. Prussia fumed. Just because Austria liked to have girly grooming habits, didn't mean he had to try to force them on manly men like him. He opened his mouth to say this, but the only thing that came out was a loud sneeze. Austria rounded on him, one perfect eyebrow arched in a distinct "I told you so" expression.

"Wh… Hey, no, that was…" Prussia stammered, blushing slightly, "b-bad timing… Er, coincidence! Yeah, totally just a coincidence!"

"Well it didn't exactly do much to help plead your case," Austria replied firmly as he plugged in the hairdryer. "Now sit on the floor."

Prussia grumbled as he plunked himself down. Austria switched on the hairdryer and began running the comb gently through Prussia's choppy white hair. It actually felt kind of nice. The air from the hairdryer was nice and warm, his lover's touch was comforting, and though it was embarrassing to admit it, he did kind of like it when Austria took care of him. With Prussia's short hair, it took only about two minutes to dry. Austria finished by pressing a kiss into his clean hair and sat down in Prussia's lap to let him work on his damp locks. Prussia did so grudgingly, feeling foolish. What did Austria think this was, "let's play beauty salon" night? They were men; not teenage girls. Well, he supposed it was kind of ok if it was Austria, but only him.

Prussia yawned widely as he finished drying and combing Austria's hair. "Now can we sleep, or do we have to paint each other's nails and put that weird green lotion shit on our faces first?"

Austria looked mildly amused as he leaned in to kiss his lips. "We can go to bed now."

The two of them climbed under the covers and Austria switched off the lamp by their bed. Prussia pulled him close, nuzzling his nose into his lover's freshly washed hair.

"G'night," he mumbled.

"Good night," Austria replied as his eyes slid closed.

He sighed contentedly as Prussia's warm hand slipped under his shirt and his nails ran lightly up and down his bare back until he was able to fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Austria returned home from work in the mid-afternoon in a fairly good mood. It was unusual that he finished his daily tasks so early and he was glad to have the unexpected free time ahead of him. He had been looking hopefully for a few spare hours in his schedule where he could do some baking and an early afternoon off from work provided just such an opportunity. There was just one thing that was bothering him; the house was curiously silent. Usually Prussia took advantage of the time when Austria was occupied at work to do some serious gaming with the volume on the TV turned up much too loud. Perhaps he had gone to pester Germany?

Austria wandered into the front room curiously, looking around for some sign of what had happened to his lover. It didn't take him long to spy the shock of messy white hair poking out from the other side of the couch whose back was turned toward him. Austria circled around noiselessly and smiled when he found his boyfriend napping on the couch, his beloved pet bird also asleep in the center of his chest.

He knelt down beside him, brushed his bangs aside gently and placed a soft kiss on his lips. Gilbird cheeped a sleepy greeting at him and Austria ran his finger lightly down his back in return before returning his attention to Prussia. Austria loved watching him sleep; he was so quiet and peaceful-looking that way. No bragging, no smug smirking, no arrogance, just Prussia. It was rare that he said so aloud because he knew nothing good ever came of feeding Prussia's already swollen ego, but Prussia was beautiful to him, in every sense of the word. He touched another tiny kiss to Prussia's bottom lip.

"…The awesome me… accepts your adoration…" Prussia mumbled without waking.

Austria rolled his eyes. So he did manage to be arrogant sometimes even in his sleep. At least Prussia seemed to be having pleasant dreams. He decided he would let him sleep for now, and would wake him later for afternoon tea and fresh pastries.

* * *

Prussia awoke unhurriedly from his nap about an hour later. He yawned and stretched luxuriously, then propped himself up on his elbows and stroked the little bird on his chest. There were noises coming from the kitchen. Prussia perked up. Could that be Austria home already? He glanced down at his watch. His immediate thought was that it wasn't yet time to make dinner so Austria must be baking. He certainly hoped so. The only thing he liked as much as watching, and occasionally helping him bake (though Austria was careful to only give him jobs that a monkey could do; Prussia was useless at making froofy Austrian pastries), and eating the finished product was watching him play the piano.

Prussia yawned again as he transferred Gilbird to the back of the couch, got up and wandered into the kitchen. Austria had his back to him, his graceful hands working diligently at something. A little shiver ran down Prussia's spine when he saw that his lover's dress shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, his longish dark hair pinned neatly back away from his face to prevent it from getting in the food, a light green apron with a music note print tied over his day clothes. Austria was so beautiful when he was baking; it was part of what made Prussia love to watch. He approached Austria silently from behind, looped his arms around his slim waist and pressed a kiss to the soft, pale crook of his neck. Austria started at the unexpected touch. He filled his lungs with air to scold Prussia for startling him but his will to do so faded at the persistent kisses. Austria turned his head to grace Prussia's forehead with a kiss in return.

"Kesesese, did I scare you?" Prussia sniggered as he pinched a small ball of dough from the bowl and popped it into his mouth.

The urge to scold him returned swiftly and Austria smacked him playfully on the nose with his wooden mixing spoon. "You're positively insufferable sometimes, attacking me when I'm making you sweets. And how many times have I told you to keep your fingers out of the bowl when I'm baking? I shall need to teach you some proper manners sometime in the immediate future."

"Good luck with that," Prussia snorted. He scooped the small amount of batter that had been left on his face when Austria smacked him onto his finger and licked it off. "Mm, Linzer torte?"

"Correct," Austria confirmed. "If you're going to insist on making a nuisance of yourself in my kitchen, make yourself a useful one and bring me the nuts."

Prussia released him and there was a quiet rustling from behind Austria's back.

"And if you're trying to be cute by pulling down your pants right now, I'm eating the entire cake by myself," Austria said shrewdly without even glancing over his shoulder. "I meant hazelnuts and you know it."

"You're no fun at all, Specs," Prussia grumbled, refastening his pants and heading for the drawer that contained the hazelnuts.

"They need to be crushed," Austria instructed. "Use the rolling pin. And you were playing with your bird so wash your hands first."

Prussia rolled his eyes but washed his hands anyway, then picked up the rolling pin and ground the hazelnuts obediently before bringing them back to Austria. Austria dumped them into the pastry dough and kneaded them in with his flour-covered hands. The dough was then dumped into a pan and pressed into shape. Prussia smiled as Austria popped open a jar of fresh, thick strawberry preserves. Austria tsked quietly when Prussia stuck his finger in the jam and brought it to his mouth to taste. He surprised Prussia when he turned his head and caught Prussia's finger in his mouth first, twirling his tongue around it as he licked off the jam.

Pouting, the white-haired man curled his arms around his lover's waist again, rested his chin on his shoulder and watched attentively as Austria's nimble fingers began to create the intricate lattice-work crust that would sit atop the nearly finished product. He wanted dearly to bring those fingers to his lips so that he could kiss them and suck away the sweet dough that clung to them but he didn't dare interrupt their mesmerizing work.

Austria nodded his head slightly in satisfaction as he finished the lattice crust. Now they just had to bake it. Prussia released him so that he could bring the cake to the oven. As soon as the dessert was baking and the timer had been set, Prussia took Austria's hand at last. Austria's face warmed when Prussia began to kiss along his sensitive fingers slowly from base to tip, sucking away the batter that had stuck to them. He led them gradually into the other room. Prussia followed him, lips still worshiping at his slender fingertips, hardly paying any mind to where Austria was leading him until he was being pushed down onto the couch. Austria straddled his lap.

Once Austria's fingers were clean, Prussia's mouth abandoned them in favor of his temples which were exposed at the moment since his hair was pinned back. The musician shivered with pleasure as Prussia's kisses trailed down the side of his face and along the ticklish skin below his ear. His calloused hand slipped around behind him and grabbed his bottom, squeezing gently.

"Do you know I can't resist you when you look like this?" Prussia whispered in his ear before tracing the shell of it with his tongue.

"Resistance has never been your strong point when it comes to me," Austria breathed, nibbling softly along his lover's throat.

Prussia tried to pretend that he hadn't heard that but Austria saw a hint of a pout flash across his face as if he wanted to say _"Psh, I could've resisted those other times if I wanted. I just didn't want to."_ Even with the two of them as deeply in love as they were, the white-haired man still had difficulty admitting to Austria that he saw him as the great Prussia's only weakness. As much as Prussia's insistence on his own superiority exasperated him, he couldn't help finding it adorable that he himself was Prussia's one acknowledged Achilles's heel.

Austria had to kiss him in order to keep himself from laughing at that, but a few quiet chuckles escaped him anyway, causing Prussia to grin. It was rare that Austria allowed himself to laugh, but when he did it secretly set Prussia's heart aflutter. Prussia let their lips meet again, a show of appreciation for being allowed to experience Austria's elusive laughter, and noted as he did so that his mouth tasted of cinnamon and a hint of lemon.

"That's what I hate about you snooty aristocrats," Prussia teased. "You're all a bunch of hypocrites."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Austria huffed.

"Don't think I can't taste that cinnamon and lemon on your mouth," he grinned, kissing him once more and tasting along his bottom lip with the tip of his tongue. "You were eating the dough! You always get your undies in a bunch when I do it but you're just as bad as I am!"

Austria turned his haughty little aristocratic nose up at Prussia's accusations but at least had the decency to go a bit pink in the cheeks. "I had to make sure that the ingredients were up to my standards before using them. That's an entirely different matter."

"You liar!" Prussia cackled. "You so ate the dough! Now you can't say a word when I do it! Kesesese!"

"E-even if I had, it's my privilege as the chef to do so," he protested. "You have no rights to my masterpiece; you're just an interloper."

"A damn good-looking one," Prussia smirked, flopping back into a reclining position on the couch before plucking Austria's glasses from his nose and slipping them onto his own. "One that you rushed home from work early to see."

"I will neither confirm nor deny that claim," Austria said contrarily as he lay down on top of Prussia, resting his head against his chest and closing his eyes.

Prussia smiled at Austria's response and began to rub his lover's back affectionately. "How was work today? If anyone pissed you off, I can go kick their ass for you. You can pretend you had nothing to do with it."

"I appreciate the offer but that won't be necessary," Austria replied easily. "Aside from my meeting with Italy, it was a fairly uneventful day. Even the meeting is hardly worth mentioning."

"Italy, huh?" Prussia grinned, remembering the helpful services he had rendered him and Germany a few weeks ago. "How's the little guy doing?"

"He's still got his head in the clouds, just as he always has," Austria sighed. "He seemed even less focused today than usual."

"In a good way or a bad way?" Prussia asked, hoping there was nothing wrong with Italy.

"Is there a good way to be unfocused?" Austria asked. "Though if you're asking if anything seemed wrong with him, I would say it appeared to be quite the contrary. I got the strong impression he wanted to hurry home to be with Germany."

"I knew it!" Prussia smirked. "Man, I'm awesome!"

"Don't tell me you had something to do with that," Austria said, torn between exasperation and mild amusement. "Were you meddling in your brother's love affairs again?"

"The awesome me does not meddle," he replied triumphantly. "I orchestrate!"

"I happen to know a thing or two about orchestras," Austria reminded him, trying to sound haughty again but he failed to disguise the fondness in his tone. "What you do could hardly be considered orchestrating. It's scheming at best."

"Well I just _schemed_ my hopeless little bro a sex life," Prussia bragged, grinning from ear to ear. "If that's not a miracle worthy of being considered 'orchestrating', I don't know what is. Kesesese! I bet they're fucking like bunnies as we speak!"

Austria was just about to tease him for taking too much of an interest in Germany's sex life when the timer went off, signaling that their dessert had finished baking. He took his glasses back from Prussia and got up to get the treat from the oven. Prussia followed him, happily inhaling the scent of freshly baked Linzer torte. Austria slipped a thick red oven mitt onto his hand and reached into the oven, removing the torte carefully.

"Put some water on to boil for tea," he instructed.

Prussia began filling the kettle, humming to himself as he did so. He used to scoff at England for enjoying something girly like teatime, but now that he had Austria and his pastries to enjoy it with, he completely understood the appeal. Of course, he was happy doing just about anything with Austria, even things that he would never admit to liking to anyone else like gardening or stargazing while drinking wine.

Even better, he knew that Austria felt exactly the same. Austria had admitted to him that if he was with Prussia, he enjoyed things like playing Guitar Hero or football or watching pro-wrestling from America's house, things that Austria would normally avoid like the plague. It had gotten to the point where he couldn't imagine his life without Austria and wondered how he had gotten himself through that period which he had, at the time, told himself was "splendid isolation". He was certain he could never go back to that kind of life. Prussia set the kettle on the stove and wandered back to Austria's side, taking him into his arms again as they waited for the water to boil.

When the kettle finally whistled, Austria instructed Prussia to help him carry everything into the sunroom. The sunroom was Austria's favorite place to have tea and compose his music, and Prussia couldn't blame him for liking the place. It had a relaxing atmosphere, its many windows allowing golden sunlight to stream in and providing a view of the flowers that Austria tended so lovingly out in the garden. The yard was fenced in to give them privacy and Prussia was glad for this because he didn't think he could stand anyone besides Austria finding out how much he had learned to love his teatime. The musician poured the water into his china teapot and placed a thermometer in it to make sure that the water was at just the right temperature to add the tea leaves.

Prussia busied himself with setting the table while Austria made the tea. He set out two delicate china plates rimmed with gold foil and sporting a pink lily pattern, the matching tea cups and the spindly silver teaspoons and dessert forks. Then he returned to the kitchen to get cream and sugar. Austria smiled to himself as he watched Prussia lay these things out, feeling proud of himself for having managed to domesticate his wild boyfriend enough to enjoy such cultured pastimes.

When his watch told him that the tea had steeped long enough, he removed the strainer containing the leaves from the teapot. Prussia watched eagerly as Austria sliced him a generous portion from the dessert on the table and prepared a smaller piece for himself. The two of them sat side by side on the little white wickerwork bench at the equally white table and Prussia poured the tea for each of them. Austria cut off a piece of Prussia's slice of torte with his fork and brought it to his lover's lips. Prussia opened his mouth to accept it and hummed with pleasure as the simultaneously sweet and tart flavor spread over his tongue. It was perfect, just as every other dessert Austria ever made was.

_Man,_ Prussia thought blissfully as he sipped his tea, _not being alone is way too much fun._


	4. Chapter 4

Prussia glanced up from his gaming magazine when he heard the rustling of clothing near the door. Austria was slipping on his coat and shoes.

"Going somewhere, young master?" he asked.

Austria sniffled minutely and rubbed at his nose. "I thought I might prepare hendl and sourdough bread for dinner but we're out of some things. I was going to the supermarket."

"I'll come with you," Prussia declared, putting down his magazine and getting to his feet. "I wanted to get beer and stuff. And it would suck if you got lost and I had to come out and hunt you down."

"You're welcome to come," Austria said, "but you really don't need to worry about me getting lost in my own country, and certainly not when I'm just going to the supermarket."

"If it was anyone but you, I'd say 'yeah, guess you're right', but after that incident where you got lost in your _own freaking house_, well…" Prussia teased gently as he put on his own coat and shoes.

Austria's cheeks pinked. "Oh, be quiet," he mumbled sullenly. "That was _one _time."

He turned his back on Prussia, who was sniggering at the memory, and retrieved the large blfue and white umbrella from the stand near the door. The weather reports had predicted rain for today and it was chilly enough outside without being wet on top of it. Prussia waited for Austria to pull on his stylish black gloves before taking his hand and leading him outdoors. Austria shivered as the mid-autumn chill hit him. It felt, to him, so cold that it was as if he was not even wearing a coat, but Prussia seemed completely unperturbed by it.

"Ok then, young master," Prussia said with a grin, "if you're so sure you can find your way to the supermarket without my help, I'll let you lead the way. Which direction should we go?"

Austria rubbed at his nose again and indicated the sidewalk extending to the right.

"Oh! The awesome me is impressed!" Prussia announced, his grin widening.

"See, I told you I was perfectly capable of-"

"You picked the exact opposite of the way we need to go!" he laughed. "You dork!"

"How can that…" Austria trailed off as he squinted into the distance on the left and saw, just barely, the roof of the supermarket over the line of houses. He blushed again.

"Kesesese! Man, you'd be totally helpless if you didn't have the greatest boyfriend in the world to hold your hand!" Prussia smirked. He tugged Austria closer and pressed a kiss to the top of his head as they proceeded in the correct direction.

"Hmph, so says the one who's never done a single load of laundry correctly in his life," Austria pointed out. "And you're so ridiculously disorganized that you need me to help you find your diary every single night so that you can write in it. You'd lose your own head if it wasn't attached."

"Pfft, I totally do that stuff on purpose," Prussia argued, though the sheepish look on his face didn't slip under Austria's radar. "It'd be such a hassle to have you breathing down my neck to do laundry, and having you help me look for my diary is just an excuse to check out your ass when you bend over to look under the bed."

Austria fixed him with a thoroughly unimpressed look. "I see. So what you mean to say is that you're actually perfectly capable of doing those things for yourself without my help. In that case, I'm sure you can handle them from now on."

"What?" he groused, his expression becoming one of distaste at the thought of having to manage on his own. "Aw, c'mon young master. Don't be like that."

"Well, either you need me or you don't," Austria prodded. "Which will it be?"

"Ok, fine," Prussia conceded grudgingly. "Maybe even the awesome me…"

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that last bit," Austria said stubbornly, though the beginnings of a smile tugged at his lips. He was pretty sure he knew what Prussia had said, but it was so priceless that he wanted to be certain. His heart fluttered when he looked up at Prussia and saw that he was blushing and carefully examining his shoes. The urge to kiss him welled up inside of him, but he resisted for Prussia's sake.

"I… I said…" Prussia paused and looked around to make sure that there was no one else within earshot. "M-maybe even the awesome me... needs you sometimes too, or… or something," he fizzled out weakly. Austria hadn't seen him so flushed and embarrassed since the day that he first admitted his feelings to him, and he was only getting redder.

"But it's only you! I… I don't need anyone else, so it's not like…" Prussia trailed off uncomfortably. "Anyway, forget it! It's not a big deal! Just… q-quit looking at me! Jeez!"

Austria smiled warmly as Prussia hugged him to his side with one arm so that Austria couldn't easily see his face. He turned in towards his lover's touch, glad for the extra warmth as they crossed over into the supermarket parking lot.

* * *

Austria shivered slightly as he stood in the frozen section. He was cold enough without being surrounded by all these refrigerators and just wanted to get out, but he couldn't decide which chicken he wanted. This one was a bit plumper and appeared to have more meat on it, but that one was on sale. He clutched his coat tighter around him and sniffled as he tried to make up his mind.

"What's the hold up?" Prussia asked a bit louder than necessary, obviously trying to cover any noise that might result from him trying to stealthily slip a sizeable can of beer nuts and a bag of pretzels into the cart. Austria noticed but said nothing.

"I can't decide which chicken to buy," Austria replied distractedly.

Prussia glanced over the choices briefly before grabbing the plumper chicken and placing it strategically in the cart so that it helped hide the items he had snuck in. "That was easy."

"You can't always just go for the larger one," Austria huffed. "You need to consider our budget as well. It may be all the same to you, but this is coming out of my pocket."

"I _am _considering the budget," Prussia said easily. "Look, there's more meat, which means more leftovers that we can eat tomorrow instead of having to buy something else."

Austria sniffled again as he considered Prussia's argument. It did make sense, he supposed. He rubbed at his nose irritably, deciding to let that matter slide and continuing on to the next item on their list. As he pushed the cart, he saw Prussia moving for something on one of the shelves out of the corner of his eye. He pulled back with a case of beer, the expensive bottled kind. Austria stopped pushing the cart and turned to frown at Prussia.

"I look forward to hearing you explain how buying the expensive brand of beer will save us money in the long run," he said, folding his arms expectantly.

Prussia was silent for a moment as if he was genuinely searching for a reasonable argument. The sheepish look that formed on his face soon afterwards told Austria quite clearly that he had failed to produce one. "Ah, well… it's fine to splurge once in a while, right?"

"You already splurged about five times," Austria scolded. "You added beer nuts, pretzels, chocolate, chips and that ridiculously overpriced juice drink with the little bird on the packaging."

To Prussia's credit, he could be quite a good actor when he really tried. The look he gave Austria really did seem to be one of genuine puzzlement and surprise. "I have no idea what you're talking about, young master."

Austria rolled his eyes as he parted the milk, the paper towels and the frozen chicken to reveal the little hidden alcove where Prussia had been ferreting away the items he had so surreptitiously snuck into the cart.

"Weird, how did that stuff get there?" Prussia asked, looking as if he really had no idea.

"I wonder," Austria replied sarcastically. "Curious how all these mysterious items that have stowed away in our cart happen to be your favorites."

"Pfft, don't ask me how it happened," Prussia said. "I'm just as confused as you are."

"You may keep three of them," Austria told him. "The other three need to go back."

"Only three?" The white-haired man looked crushed. "That's… that's like me telling you that you can only play stuff by three different composers for the rest of your life!"

"I'm sorry, but things are tight right now," Austria sniffed. "The economy is suffering and we can't afford to buy a lot of extraneous items."

Prussia looked at his collection of snacks sadly. After a few moments of agonizing, he picked up the chips, pretzels and the chocolate and started to place them back on the shelf. Then he hesitated in reconsideration and exchanged the chocolate for the juice. For some ridiculous reason, Austria found himself feeling guilty as Prussia cast one last longing glance at the little bird depicted on the juice bottle. He shouldn't feel bad about having to deny Prussia a bunch of snacks that weren't good for him anyway, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted to make Prussia happy however he could and it saddened him to have to deny him things that brought him pleasure. But it really couldn't be helped right now with the economy how it was. Austria resolved to make it up to Prussia somehow as he pushed the cart toward the checkout isle.

* * *

It was raining when they stepped out of the store. Austria rubbed his hands on his arms, trying to generate some warmth as Prussia popped open the umbrella. Even though he wasn't thrilled about having to carry their groceries back through the chill and the rain, there was one redeeming aspect of their return home. Austria loved sharing an umbrella with Prussia as they walked through the rain. The umbrella was large enough to afford both of them shelter, but even so it required them to stick close together in order to stay completely dry. The rain ensured that not many other people were outdoors. There was something intimate about huddling together in companionable silence, holding hands beneath their own private miniature shelter while the steady rain cascaded down.

Prussia glanced over at Austria when he hurriedly released his hand so that he could dip into his coat pocket for his embroidered silk handkerchief which he used to stifle a series of quiet, polite little sneezes. He frowned concernedly.

"You ok, young master?" he asked. "Your face looks kinda red."

"I've had a headache, chills and a running nose for the past few days," Austria mumbled. He sneezed again and dabbed at his nose with his handkerchief. "I'm afraid I may be coming down with a bit of a cold."

Prussia laid a hand against Austria's forehead, his concerned frown deepening. "Mm… yeah, you're definitely a little warm," he reported. "Economy's gettin' you down, huh?"

"It would seem so," Austria agreed, letting Prussia pull him even closer and bury a kiss in his hair.

"I'll make us a fire in the fireplace when we get home," Prussia proposed. "And you can let me worry about dinner; you should see if you can get a little sleep or something."

"Nonsense, I'm perfectly fine," Austria protested. "I can't let a little cold slow me down."

"You're _sick_," Prussia said. "You have a _fever_. I'm making you take a break if I have to use force."

Austria lapsed into an embarrassed silence. The thought of taking a rest and leaving his duties up to someone else was certainly appealing, but he didn't like the way doing so made him feel like he was letting himself be coddled like a child. Prussia kissed him again.

"Without my kingdom, I spend a lot of time wondering why I still exist and I can't stand it," Prussia muttered. "I'm too awesome to be reduced to some shitty-ass freeloader, but that's pretty much what I amount to if you keep insisting on doing everything yourself. Forget your pride, just for a while, and let me take care of you."

Austria considered his request briefly before nodding. "Very well. I place myself in your care."

Prussia smiled and rubbed his shoulder affectionately. "That's what I like to hear. I'll be so kickass at it that you'll wish you didn't have to get better."

Austria mirrored his smile. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it," Prussia said, his smile becoming a touch mischievous. "At least not for now. Once you're better, I expect you to praise me. On your knees!"

Austria chuckled quietly. "Yes, yes, of course."

With Austria's agreement obtained, Prussia relieved him of his grocery bags, slipping the handles onto his forearms, swept him off his feet and carried his lover bridal style the rest of the way home.

* * *

**A/N: **Aaaand that's all she wrote. What do you guys think? It's my first time writing these two as a pairing, and their relationship here is pretty much the exact opposite of the one they have in canon. I hope I was able to portray them faithfully to their characters even in this very different situation. Reviews are deeply appreciated :)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Ermmm, I know I said I was done with this but some people expressed a desire for me to continue and I was having fun writing these so I figured "why not keep going?" After rereading the prompt more carefully, I realized that I hadn't really fulfilled the request as OP posed it. Hopefully I can remedy that in this section. I'm also working on a companion art!fill which corresponds with the first "chapter", if you can call it that. That part may take a while though; I'm trying to do a good job on it. Anyway, I shall continue. Enjoy~

* * *

Austria was disappointed when he came home from work to find an empty house. It had been a long, trying day and he just wanted to come home and spend some leisure time with Prussia. No matter how tired and stressed he was after work, Prussia always knew how to relieve it to at least some degree. But he seemed to have gone somewhere; his car was missing, as were his shoes. Austria sighed deeply as he loosened his cravat, removed his dress jacket and undid the first few buttons on his shirt.

When he entered the front room, Gilbird fluttered over, perching himself shyly on top of a nearby lamp. Austria regarded his lover's pet tiredly for a moment before fetching a few bird treats from a box in the cabinet of the end table. Gilbird cocked his head, his interest piqued. Austria sat down on the couch and held out the treats in his outstretched hand. The little bird observed him for a moment in silence before flying over and perching delicately on Austria's spindly finger to pick happily at the honey-seed clusters. He tweeted appreciatively at Austria.

Gilbird could understand why the master liked this person; he had very nice fingers to perch on, was calm and didn't often make sudden movements or loud noises (though he had kind of been desensitized to that with his master being who he was), and was generous with the treats. Gilbird had never attempted to nest in the master's mate's hair, but it looked very soft, like good nest-building material. Yes, the master had picked a quality mate.

When the treats were gone, Austria shifted himself into a reclining position on the couch, cradling the fluffy yellow bird near his chest, and began to stroke him gently, pensively. The master's mate seemed tired and a bit glum. When the master looked this way, he would cheer up a little when Gilbird sang to him. Perhaps it would work on the master's mate as well. After all, he knew that the master's mate liked music very much. Gilbird began to sing in a soft warbling voice. A small smile tugged at Austria's lips.

"Are you trying to cheer me up?" he asked.

Austria closed his eyes so that he could focus on the song more completely. Many composers had used birdsong as inspiration. The one that immediately came to Austria's mind was Heinrich Ignaz Biber in his Sonata Representativa and Beethoven in his Sixth Symphony. Gilbird's song wasn't quite as intricate as these works, but it was fine music and he did feel slightly soothed by it. Now if only he was listening to it while cuddling into Prussia's side, strong arms wrapped around him, calloused fingers stroking his hair softly, warm lips kissing away the little stress wrinkle in the center of his forehead. No sooner had he thought these things than the garage door opened, then swung shut again.

"Rejoice! The awesome me has returned to grace you with his divine presence!" Prussia announced as he wandered into the front room.

His grin widened when he saw Austria lying on the couch, stroking Gilbird lightly while the little creature graced him with song. Austria sat up again to allow Prussia room to sit beside him on the couch. Prussia plopped down gracelessly and kissed his lover's lips in greeting. Gilbird fluttered out of Austria's hand and up onto Prussia's head as he continued to chirp. Austria sighed deeply, resting his forehead on Prussia's shoulder.

"Welcome home," he said quietly.

Prussia's smile faded and he looked down at the top of Austria's head concernedly. "What's with the weaksauce greeting, Young Master? Be happy; I'm home and you get to bask in my gloriousness... You gettin' another cold? You _do _look kinda pale…"

"No, my health is fine," Austria assured him. "I merely had a long, stressful day and… it's quite a relief to be home at last."

"Ah ha, so that's why this cute little guy is singing," Prussia remarked fondly, glancing up in Gilbird's direction. "Thanks for taking care of the young master while I was gone, Gilbird. You're awesome, pal."

Gilbird chirped in response. It was the least he could do for his beloved master's mate.

"So? What can I do?" Prussia asked. "Who had the balls to screw up my young master's day? I'll kick their asses."

"I refuse to let you terrorize my officials, even if I do feel that they deserve it sometimes," Austria mumbled. "A shoulder rub will suffice."

"As you wish," Prussia purred in his ear. "I'll just have to hunt them all down and teach 'em a lesson after you're asleep, huh?"

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing," Prussia crooned. "Now then, let's get rid of this shirt; it's in the way."

Austria watched as Prussia's fingers made quick work of his buttons and proceeded to remove the shirt and undershirt with care. For a second, nothing else happened and Austria knew that Prussia was looking at his old scars. Eventually, Prussia's warm lips made their presence known on the back of his neck and on his shoulders, tracing along his old wounds. Austria shivered slightly at the gentle tickling sensation of his breath on his skin.

It was an unfortunate predicament in which Prussia found himself. He loved Austria's body; he adored the soft, fair skin, the elegant contour of his spine, the proud posture of his shoulders, the artistry in the pleasing arrangement of his muscles, and the delicate curve of his neck. Prussia wanted to see and experience it as much as possible. But there were places where his body was scarred, and more than one of those scars had been made by Prussia himself back in the old days. There was a particularly nasty one that ran from just under Austria's shoulder blade, crossed over his ribs and terminated near his bellybutton which Prussia recalled in terrible detail having inflicted with his own rapier. Austria had assured him on many occasions that he had moved past what Prussia had done to him all those years ago and learned to forgive him but Prussia hadn't yet forgiven himself. Every time he wanted to experience Austria's beautiful body, he had to be reminded of his past brutality against the one he now loved so dearly. It made him feel distinctly unawesome.

"My shoulders won't rub themselves," Austria noted calmly, trying to draw Prussia from the pool of festering guilt he was obviously slipping into. "And I still forgive you for those, just as I did last night and the night before that and hundreds of nights before those. I haven't changed my mind."

For once Prussia had no witty retort. He simply observed in silence for a moment more, then dug his thumbs firmly but gently into Austria's uncomfortably tense shoulder muscles. Austria let out a sigh of relief as Prussia began to massage away the tension.

"So…" Austria began as Prussia pushed him down on the couch so that he could access his sore muscles more effectively. He moaned as his spine popped pleasantly. "Where were you when I got home?"

"I went to see Italy," Prussia said. "Actually, I was kind of hoping to catch West there too, but he was off being a workaholic as usual."

Austria rolled his eyes. "Since when does working during normal business hours make one a workaholic? By that reasoning, I am also a workaholic."

"No shit, Young Master," Prussia replied with a grin. "I feel like I hardly see you anymore. Why don't you ditch work tomorrow and hang out with your awesome boyfriend? We can do all your favorite things together: baking and gardening and rocking some of that classical music and I'll even give you a manicure afterwards."

"As much as I would like to take you up on that invitation, you know as well as I do that it's not an option," Austria mumbled, mourning the fact that he had to turn down a manicure in favor of work. He moaned again when Prussia began to work on another especially tense area. "And not another word about it or you really may convince me. Now what was it that you wanted with Germany and Italy?"

Prussia shrugged, though Austria had his eyes closed and couldn't see it. "Just wanted to see how things were going with them. I'm like their benefactor, you know? It's my job to…"

"The fact that you got tired of waiting for Germany to tell Italy that he wished to sleep with him and did it for him does not make you entitled to know all the details of their sexual life, whose very existence is pure speculation on your part," Austria interrupted shrewdly.

"Hey, hey, when did I say I had any interest in that?" Prussia grinned.

Austria cracked one eye open, glanced up at Prussia for a moment, then closed it again. "As I thought, it's written all over your face."

"Pfft, no way," Prussia snorted. "What do you think I am, some kind of pervert? I totally don't care. So anyway, I invited those guys over for dinner tonight around eight…"

Prussia trailed off and looked down at Austria, a bit of concern welling up in his chest again. Austria had said that he'd had a long, stressful day and that he was exhausted. Not to mention the fact that he really did look paler than usual. Maybe this wasn't a good day to have him entertaining guests.

"But, uh… if you're too tired, I can just tell 'em to forget it for tonight and come another time."

Austria sighed. "It's fine. Germany and Italy are our mutual friends so I don't have to be at 100 percent for them."

"Leave the cooking to me, then," Prussia decided and bent down to kiss the corner of Austria's mouth. "You wanna take a bath or something?"

"We can take it together before bed," Austria replied. "For now we need to get the house ready for guests."

"I'll do it," Prussia said insistently. "Leave it to me! I'll do such an awesome job, you'll fall to your knees in awe and praise me! Seriously, Young Master, you just take a break, ok? Lie down and let my awesome little bird sing to you. You'll take care of that for me, won'tcha Gilbird?"

Gilbird tweeted in the affirmative and made a saluting gesture with his wing.

"If you insist, then I suppose I have no choice," Austria said with a tired smile. He sat up and let Prussia help him back into his shirts.

"Damn right," Prussia agreed before kissing his lips again. "You want me to bring you anything before I get busy?"

"That won't be necessary," Austria assured him.

"Right. Do your thing then, Gilbird," Prussia requested as he headed for the kitchen.

Austria lay obediently on the couch, listening to Gilbird's song and wishing that he could let himself sleep while Prussia rummaged through the cabinets looking for ingredients. After a few minutes, he heard his lover leave again, presumably for the supermarket to get some items they were missing. Austria sighed and snuck off to clean the bathroom while Prussia was gone.

* * *

"Prussia! Austria! Ciao~ Thanks for having us over!" Italy greeted happily when the two of them opened the door a bit after eight that evening. "I brought some lasagna to share!"

"Awesome! Can't wait to taste it!" Prussia replied enthusiastically, his face pinking a bit as Italy leaned in and kissed him on both cheeks.

"Welcome," Austria said, patting Italy awkwardly on the head as he received his own greeting kisses.

"How's it goin', West?" Prussia asked jovially, clapping his younger brother on the shoulder. "Aren't you gonna kiss me, too?"

"If it's all the same to you, brother, I'll allow Italy's to express both our sentiments," Germany said with a frown.

"Pfft, too serious as always!" Prussia snorted. "Like I want a kiss from you!"

Germany sighed, glad that he'd thought to take an aspirin ahead of time. "Thank you for having us over, but I can't help wonder what prompted the invitation. This isn't like you, Brother."

"Jeez, West, the young master and I are feeding you guys for free tonight," Prussia pointed out, pouting. "You should be singing our praises. I don't remember raising you to be such an ungrateful brat."

"I'm grateful!" Italy piped up in the background.

"Germany is quite within his rights to be on his guard, considering that it was you who invited him," Austria said. "You are notorious for your ulterior motives."

"You mean genius strategizing!" Prussia declared. "Big difference, Young Master! Anyway, come on in! Soup's getting cold!"

Italy pranced unsuspectingly into the dining room where Austria indicated his seat and Germany followed, feeling a tad uneasy as he sat down beside Italy. Austria tried to follow Prussia into the kitchen to help him carry out the first course, but Prussia stopped him.

"Hey, I've got it under control, ok?" Prussia assured him, sealing that assurance with a soft kiss. "You can sit down and let me take care of everything."

"Nonsense, there's no reason why I can't help take care of our guests," Austria protested. This was his pride speaking; his body was begging for him to comply. The high-speed cleaning he'd done while Prussia was occupied with cooking had used up almost all of the energy he'd had left when he'd gotten home from work, which hadn't been much.

"You look like you're about to drop," Prussia said, sliding an arm around his waist and leading him back to his chair. "Sit down, ok? Let me serve you tonight."

Austria blushed as he plunked down in his chair. Italy and Germany had been watching the affectionate exchange with looks of surprise on their faces. Not that he could really blame them for being surprised; he doubted that any one of the other nations would ever guess that they had such a healthy relationship, especially considering their historical interactions.

Italy began slicing up the lasagna and scooped some onto everyone's plate as Prussia immerged from the kitchen balancing four bowls of soup and a basket of dinner rolls on a tray. He set them out in front of everyone before taking his place at Austria's side. Italy stirred the thick, orangeish broth curiously.

"Ve, I've never seen this kind of soup before," he commented.

"You've never tasted soljanka before, Italy?" Prussia asked. "You're in for a treat! It's usually supposed to be spicier but this is a milder version."

"Oh good," Italy sighed with relief. "I'm not very good with spicy things."

"That's what I thought," Prussia nodded, looking pleased with himself for having thought of that.

Germany dug into the soup and his eyes widened. "Wow, this is amazing! I'm impressed, Austria!"

Prussia's eyebrow twitched. He leaned across the table and flicked Germany squarely between the eyes.

"Ouch! What was that for, Brother?" Germany demanded.

"Look West, I love the young master as much as I love myself," he growled, "but he does _not _get to take credit for my awesomeness!"

Italy, who had tasted a spoonful of the soljanka and was looking similarly impressed, looked up at him in surprise. "Did Prussia make this?"

"That's right, Italy!" Prussia announced proudly. "Pretty freakin' good, huh? Feel free to praise me as much as you want!"

Germany looked to Austria for confirmation.

"It is as he said," Austria confirmed. "I didn't help him."

"I don't know what to say," Germany muttered. "You've really surpassed my expectations, Brother."

"Oh, c'mon West!" Prussia said exasperatedly. "I cooked for you all the time when you were a kid! That was pretty damn good, too, wasn't it?"

"It certainly wasn't bad," Germany acquiesced. "But I've never known you to cook at this level before. This tastes as though it was made by a professional."

"Germany's right, this is really yummy!" Italy agreed. "And it goes well with the lasagna too!"

"Well, I've been practicing cooking more lately," Prussia said. "The young master and I cook together all the time and he's helped me refine my raw skill, I guess."

"Right? Cooking is so much more fun when you're doing it with someone you love!" Italy chirped. "And it makes you want to try harder because you want that person to taste what you've created for them with love and smile and tell you it was delicious."

"Right, right! That's it!" Prussia said. "Italy really understands, huh? And it's even more fun when you're doing it naked!"

"Not that we've ever done it!" Austria denied hotly.

"Cooking naked?" Italy tilted his head cutely as he considered this. "That does sound fun! Hey Germany, let's try that next time!"

"Let's not," Germany mumbled, his face going the same shade of red as Austria's.

"While we're on the subject," Prussia began slyly, "you guys are doin' it now, right?"

Germany choked on his soup.

"Yep, lots of times!" Italy announced.

"Kesesese! I knew it!" Prussia cackled

Austria wanted to shout at him, but he just didn't have the energy. Instead he lowered his face into his hands and tried desperately to block out the ensuing conversation.

"That's none of your business, Brother! And don't answer him, Italy!" Germany snapped. "Don't tell me you invited us over to ask us about this!"

"Tell me about it, Italy," Prussia said, ignoring Austria and Germany. "This guy isn't too rough with you, is he?"

"Oh no, Germany is very gentle," Italy assured him. "I was surprised by how nice and soft his lips are because he doesn't seem like the type of guy to really pay attention to his skin, you know?"

"He uses his lips, huh?" Prussia grinned. "Nice, West."

"Italy! Brother!" Germany shouted, his face perfectly scarlet. "Stop this right now! Austria, say something!"

"Last time, Germany even started it," Italy continued as if he was completely oblivious to his lover's protests. "I was so happy because usually Germany's too shy. But he put his big muscly arms around me and put his lips right on mine!"

"And then?" Prussia prompted. "He made you do something really kinky, right?"

"Brother!" Germany roared. "Austria! Why don't you say something to him?"

"Prussia," Austria said quietly, "please stop. All this yelling is making my head hurt."

Prussia stopped immediately and looked over at Austria worriedly. "Your head's hurting? I knew we should have done this another night. You got a fever? …No, it feels normal. I'll go get you an aspirin."

Prussia got up from the table and hurried off to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.

"Are you ok, Austria?" Italy asked concernedly. "You do look kind of pale and tired."

"I'm fine," Austria assured him. "I just had a very stressful and exhausting day at work."

"I can relate to that," Germany muttered, still blushing as he returned to his soup and lasagna.

Prussia returned and put an aspirin on Austria's plate which the musician swallowed gratefully.

"But I'm surprised that Prussia wanted to know about how Germany kisses," Italy commented. "Why did you ask about that?"

"…Huh?" the other three said in unison.

"What? We were talking about kissing, right?" Italy asked.

"Uh, we were talking about sex…" Prussia said slowly.

Italy smiled at him. "Sex? …What's that?"

Germany sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose while the other two just stared. Prussia looked crushed.

"Italy… Tell me you're joking," he implored. "You know what sex is, right? There's no way you don't know… You and West do it every night, right? Right?"

"Ve… Maybe Germany will tell me," Italy said. "Germany? What's sex?"

"This isn't an appropriate topic for the dinner table," Germany replied elusively. "We'll discuss it later."

Prussia began to shovel his soup into his mouth at lightning speed. "M-maybe this soup is spicier than I thought. It's… it's making my eyes water like crazy…" he muttered in a weak attempt to disguise bitter tears.

"I told you not to ask about it, you fool," Austria said, but he leaned over and pressed a consolation kiss to the top of Prussia's bowed head.

He knew how much Prussia had been looking forward to Germany and Italy groveling before him, grateful that he had helped them take their relationship to a level that wouldn't have been possible if they'd been left to their own devices. Germany and Italy looked on in surprise again at this open display of affection from the normally reserved Austria. When they had finished the soup, lasagna and rolls, Prussia brought out the second course.

"Ah, Königsberger Klopse," Germany said with a nod and a small smile. "I've missed this."

"I thought you'd like it, West," Prussia said with a grin. "It was your favorite growing up. No matter how upset you were, you'd always cheer right up when I made Königsberger Klopse for dinner."

"Ve, really?" Italy asked, his face lighting up. "If Germany likes this so much, then maybe I should try to make them for him sometimes. Could I get Prussia's recipe?"

"Yeah, I'll give it to you before you leave," Prussia agreed.

Germany dug into the meatballs and hummed with satisfaction. "These are even better than I remember."

"Ve, Austria…?" Italy said timidly.

Austria, whose head had been nodding sleepily, blushed and cleared his throat, taking a drink of ice water to wake himself up. "I… I apologize…"

"If you're that tired, Young Master, just go to bed," Prussia advised. "I'll save your dessert and clean up."

"No, no I'll be fine," Austria insisted, rubbing his eyes under his glasses in a way that tugged fiercely at Prussia's heartstrings. "It's rude to go to bed before the guests have left."

"We don't mind, Austria," Germany said. "We understand perfectly that work can be exhausting. It's bad for your health to deprive your body of sleep when it needs it."

"I assure you that one more hour won't make a significant difference," Austria replied stubbornly. "But thank you for your concern."

Prussia rolled his eyes at Austria's stubbornness but realized that making a big deal out of it in front of their guests would only embarrass him even more.

"Oh Austria," Italy piped up, "I noticed your rose bushes when we came up to the house. They're really pretty this year!"

"Thank you," Austria said with a tired smile. "Prussia and I planted them together."

"Really, Brother?" Germany asked, astonished. "You garden now too?"

"Cooking, gardening, it sounds like Prussia and Austria have lots of fun together!" Italy commented brightly.

"I never would have thought you would have taken an interest in gardening, of all things," Germany said in awe. "You never had any patience for it before."

"We play music together, too," Prussia said.

"Ve? Prussia plays an instrument?" Italy asked.

"The flute and the violin, right, Brother?" Germany recalled. "Unless you've picked up more recently."

"Well, the young master was kinda teaching me how to play the piano," Prussia admitted, "but my awesome raw talent still needs a little expert polishing."

"If you're not good at it, just say so," Germany muttered.

"But I'm surprised!" Italy said. "I never imagined Prussia doing all these domestic types of things but it seems like you're actually really good at them, huh?"

"I couldn't really call myself awesome if I wasn't," Prussia bragged.

The four of them finished up the Königsberger Klopse and Prussia cleared the dishes away to make room for the dessert.

"I think you're really gonna like this one, Italy," Prussia grinned.

"Ve~, I can't wait!" Italy chirped.

Prussia placed the miniature dishes in front of each of them, along with a cup of coffee. Italy gasped in wonder.

"Wooow," he breathed. "It's so cute! Like a little miniature bowl of spaghetti!"

"Spaghettieis," Germany said with a nod of approval. "Nice choice."

"What's it made of?" Italy asked curiously, digging in with his spoon. "It's soft…"

"Just give it a try," Prussia urged.

Italy took a bite. "Mm, ice cream with strawberry sauce! Yummy! Ve~ what did you use for the cheese?"

"I grated some white chocolate over it," Prussia answered proudly. "Pretty kickass, huh?"

The white-haired man was just turning to ask Austria what he thought when Austria's head drooped onto his shoulder.

"Young Master?" Prussia said tentatively.

"It looks like Austria fell asleep," Italy observed.

"You really were tired, huh?" Prussia mumbled, a small smile tugging at his lips as he brushed Austria's hair out of his face tenderly. "We told you you could go to bed, you stubborn idiot."

fAustria didn't wake, even when Prussia kissed him.

"Sorry, I'll be back after I've taken care of him," Prussia said. He shifted Austria carefully and scooped him into his arms so that he could carry him slowly to the bedroom.

As delicately as he could, he propped Austria's sleeping form against himself on the bed so that he could remove his clothes. Once Austria was in his boxers and undershirt, Prussia tucked him in with a soft kiss on the forehead. He shut the bedroom door quietly behind him before returning to his guests. Prussia noticed as he sat down that Italy was smiling sweetly at him and even Germany appeared to be trying to stifle a grin.

"What?" he demanded. "You guys better not've put anything in my ice cream."

"We didn't," Germany said. "Only you would do that."

"Before we came over tonight, I was kind of wondering what kind of relationship Prussia and Austria had," Italy explained. "Prussia always seemed to like to fight and be rough so I was kind of worried about Austria but now I see that I don't need to be. Prussia is so kind and gentle with Austria and I can really tell that you guys are deeply in love. It's really sweet!"

"Being with him has really made you settle down," Germany agreed. "And being with you seems to have mellowed him out a bit, too… Although that could just be because he was so tired. Anyway, I'm glad to see that you're having such positive effects on each other."

"Being in love really does change people, huh?" Italy sang.

Prussia tried not to blush because blushing was for pansies, but he couldn't help himself with his brother and Italy looking at him like that.

Italy giggled. "Tee hee, that's exactly the same face Germany makes when he's embarrassed. How cute! You guys really are brothers, huh?"

Germany flushed a bit, too.

"I don't know what you're talking about," they mumbled in unison, busying themselves with their ice cream.

Italy giggled again before finishing off his own portion. When they had finished eating, Italy and Germany helped Prussia clear the table and wash the dishes.

"Well, we'd better get going now," Germany said as he put away the last dish in the cupboard. "Thank you for having us, Brother."

"Yes, thank you for all the yummy food, Prussia!" Italy chirped. "And for the recipe! I can't wait to make it for Germany!"

"See ya," Prussia said. "And seriously, West, have The Talk with Italy right away, man, ok? This is serious business."

Italy took Germany's hand once they had closed the front door behind them.

"I felt bad for not being able to thank Prussia for helping with our relationship," Italy commented as they got into the car. "I really am grateful."

"So am I," Germany admitted, though it had certainly made things awkward for him when they had come home to discover all that stuff on the table. "But it's better that he doesn't know or else he'd be harassing us for details all the time and I doubt if he'd ever let me out of his debt."

"I really had Germany worried, though, when I answered Prussia's question before, huh?" Italy grinned.

"Hmph," he grunted elusively. "I thought you might have overdone it when you said you didn't even know what sex was. It's a good thing Brother is a little dense sometimes… Then again, it did really well at getting him off our backs about it, so perhaps it worked out alright after all."

"All according to plan," Italy hummed, leaning over to kiss Germany's cheek. "But Prussia and Austria sure are a cute couple, aren't they? I was really surprised!"

"Me too," Germany agreed. "I didn't think Brother had it in him to be so affectionate."

"They really seemed to be good for each other," Italy said. "I'm happy for them!"

"Yeah," Germany said. "So am I."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** This section gave me so much trouble. I had to start over like three times and rewrite large chunks and rework things all over the place. It was kind of a nightmare. I hope it turned out ok…

* * *

The first thing Austria became aware of as he began to wake slowly in the middle of that late spring morning was that he was cold. His neat, slender brows furrowed irritably as he pulled the covers up to his shoulders and rolled over to snuggle up to Prussia. That was the nice thing about sleeping with Prussia during the chilly months: the man radiated heat like a furnace (though this same quality tended to make things quite uncomfortable during the warmer parts of the year). To Austria's greater annoyance however, he rolled all the way to the opposite side of the bed without coming into contact with his lover's warm body. This left him no choice but to actually open his eyes and look around, something which he had been hoping to avoid as he hadn't been quite ready to wake up just yet.

Austria was rather disappointed to find Prussia's half of the bed empty. It was quite unusual that Prussia woke before him. Perhaps he had just got up to use the bathroom? But no, the master bathroom door was open and the room itself upsettingly Prussia-free. Austria was just starting to wonder if he was actually going to have to haul himself out of bed and go looking for him when the piano music began. The dark-haired man recognized the piece almost instantly, even in his sleepy daze: Heart and Soul. Austria huffed and shook his head, but couldn't fight back a fond smile.

Prussia often liked to insist Austria was remembering things incorrectly on the occasion that they discussed how things had happened on the day that he had confessed his love to Austria. Not that Austria could blame him for doing so; the way Prussia had confessed to him could not possibly have gone as well as he had intended. Austria was sure that he had intended to sweep him off his feet with smooth words and suave actions, but in that department he had failed spectacularly. There was only one day of the year where Prussia was willing to acknowledge the fact that some of the events that Austria insisted on had actually taken place, and today just happened to be that day.

Austria rolled out of bed, his bare feet padding quietly on the wooden floor as he headed for the sunroom. He didn't normally keep his piano there, but it seemed that Prussia had moved it for the occasion. As he got closer, he noticed an overpoweringly delicious scent pervading the air and it caused his stomach to growl hungrily. Prussia didn't look up when his lover entered the room; he continued to plunk away in his amateur fashion at the piano.

Golden sunlight streamed in through the windows, catching his sleep-mussed white-blond hair so that it shined brilliantly. He was still unshaven and wearing his pajamas, but that just made the scene even more captivating to Austria. A piping hot breakfast was laid out on the white table: quiche, toast and jam, orange juice, and the cinnamon rolls that they had made together the previous night and placed uncooked in the refrigerator so that they would only have to be baked in the morning. Beyond the windows that surrounded them, Austria's flowerbeds, which he himself hadn't gotten around to planting yet this year, were spilling over with colorful blooms. He saw exactly the three types he expected to see: red roses, dark red geraniums, and the white stars of Bethlehem. Those flowers certainly had not been there yesterday; he could only assume that Prussia had gotten up and planted them in the middle of the night.

As Austria stood viewing the flowers and listening to Prussia playing Heart and Soul, he couldn't help remembering what had happened on that day twenty-five years ago. Coincidentally, as much as he didn't want to, Prussia was remembering, too, exactly what had gone down.

* * *

_Prussia straightened his suit jacket compulsively for what was probably the thirty-seventh time as he popped another mint into his mouth and sucked it ferociously. This was the day; there would be no more procrastinating. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he put it off any longer. It had already reached the point where it was shameful. As loath as he was to admit it, there was a word for what he was doing, one that he never wanted associated with one as awesome as himself: he was pining, and it was pathetic._

_He had tried to bury his unfortunate feelings, and when that had failed, he'd tried to just deal with them, but that had been equally futile. It soon became clear to him that the only option was to confess. He just wished that the object of his desire was anyone but the nation on whose front step he was currently standing. Things would have been infinitely easier if he had been longing for France or Spain, or even one of the Italy brothers. But no, it had to be Austria, the nation whom he had invaded and captured and brutalized so many times in the past. He knew that there was a ninety-nine percent chance that this venture would end in flat rejection. All the same, he couldn't be at peace unless he tried._

_Prussia tugged uncomfortably at his tie, trying to fix it so that it didn't feel as though it was strangling him. The suit was just as bad; the garment fit like a straightjacket. He was uncomfortable enough, considering what he was about to do. It had been a bad idea to wear clothing to which he was not accustomed. France had insisted when he had counseled him, saying that the clothes made the man and that if he wanted to attempt to woo an aristocrat like Austria, he needed to clean up his image. The rattling sound produced by the cellophane around his bouquet betrayed the shaking of his hands and made him feel like a coward._

_Prussia drew his face into a determined scowl, clenched his fist to stop it from shaking so badly, straightened his suit one last time and bravely rang the doorbell. The few seconds of silence that followed were suffocating. He fooled himself into thinking, just for a moment, that perhaps Austria wasn't home and that he would just have to come back another time. Before he could turn and walk away at high speed (though not too high a speed; it wasn't like the awesome Prussia was running away or anything) he heard footsteps from within the depths of the house, approaching him like a death sentence. It was then as he realized that there was absolutely no going back now, at least no way which he could perform without forever labeling himself as chicken shit, that his carefully prepared speech melted from his brain and dripped pitifully out his ear. This left him woefully unprepared when Austria finally opened the door._

_When Austria laid his stunning violet eyes on his visitor, his brows rose in surprise. Prussia, however, looked even more shocked to see him standing there even though he was the one who had gone to the trouble of journeying all the way to Austria's house and ringing the doorbell. In his shock, he could only stare, and his mouth refused to produce a single intelligible word, or indeed any sound at all, his bouquet hiding behind his ramrod-straight back. To Austria's credit, he was extremely patient as he waited for the man who had been his enemy for centuries to state his business. When it became clear that Prussia wasn't going to say anything anytime soon, Austria began to close the door again without a word._

_This movement spurred Prussia into action at last. His arm shot out and blocked the door from closing._

_"W-wait, Specs!" he blurted. He accidentally swallowed the mint he had been sucking on and doubled over coughing. "I'm… I'm here because, uh… Well, there's actually something I wanted to, um… Dammit, what was I gonna… Just… just let me in! Uh, p…please…"_

_Austria frowned, bemused by Prussia's odd behavior. He had never seen him so nervous, and Prussia had certainly never said "please" to him before. The way Prussia was trembling slightly, looking anywhere but directly at him, his face white as a sheet, put Austria on his guard. Was Prussia on drugs or something? Austria tilted his head, bending down slightly so that he forced Prussia to meet his eyes, hoping that they held some sort of explanation. To his surprise, the meeting of their gazes caused the previously milky-white-faced man to blush brilliantly. In a panicked attempt to hide this, Prussia whipped the bouquet out from behind his back at last, red roses, deep red geraniums and white stars of Bethlehem, and shoved it into Austria's face._

_"T-take 'em," he stammered. "It's not like I need 'em!"_

_Austria accepted the flowers hesitantly, now even more confused than before. What on earth was going on here? The only things Prussia had ever given him in the past were slices from his sword and the occasional black eye. Why was he suddenly giving him flowers? There had to be some ulterior motive at play here, but damned if he could figure out what it was. Now that the flowers were in Austria's hands, Prussia could no longer hide behind them, and he cursed himself first for having given them away so quickly and second for wanting to hide behind them at all. This wasn't going as well as he had hoped._

_"Are you gonna let me in, or… or not?" Prussia demanded, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he stared off to the side at the wall._

_Austria studied him a few seconds longer before stepping aside at last and letting Prussia into the house. Prussia shuffled past him, keeping as close to the wall as possible to prevent them from accidentally touching each other as he entered the house. Austria examined the bouquet thoughtfully as he closed the door._

_"May I enquire as to the nature of your visit?" Austria inquired somewhat cautiously, genuinely curious._

_"You got anything to drink?" Prussia asked, ignoring Austria's question. Suddenly he was parched. "The stronger the better."_

_Austria frowned in mild irritation. "I believe I have some schnapps somewhere."_

_"Fine," Prussia said._

_The aristocrat stalked off to get the liquor and to put the flowers in a vase. Prussia seated himself on the very edge of one of Austria's couches in the front room, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. Austria returned a minute later with two glasses of schnapps, passing one to Prussia before sitting down across from him. Prussia gulped the liquor instantly and Austria sipped his own politely. He went to set the glass down on the table but it slipped from his hands and shattered on the hardwood floor. Prussia stared at the shards in horror as Austria clicked his tongue irritably and got up to get a broom._

_He was just returning with the broom when he heard Prussia swear quietly under his breath. The white-haired man had been trying to pick up the pieces of glass with his fingers and had sliced himself. It wasn't a bad cut, but it was enough to hurt and be embarrassing. Could this be going any worse? Where was the courage he'd always so prided himself on? If he wasn't so damn nervous, he wouldn't be messing up so badly._

_"Obviously you'll cut yourself if you try to pick it up with your hands, you fool," Austria scolded. "Honestly, what is wrong with you today?"_

_Austria could have sworn he just barely heard Prussia mumble an apology, but it was so wildly out of character that he dismissed it as his ears playing a trick on him. Prussia watched guiltily as Austria finished cleaning up the glass and returned to stare at him impatiently._

_"Shall we get down to business?" Austria prompted when Prussia failed, again, to say anything._

_"Do you know, uh… that… you know," Prussia began awkwardly, "l-language of flowers?"_

_Austria stared, nonplussed._

_"Not that I know anything about sissy bullshit like that!" Prussia insisted hurriedly. "France told me! But I thought it seemed like something a stuck up aristocrat would…"_

_"I'm afraid I don't follow," Austria said._

_"I didn't pick those flowers at random," Prussia told him, blushing and looking frustrated. "They all mean something. You don't know?"_

_Austria considered this. "Roses, traditionally symbolic of true love, dark-colored geraniums, symbolizing remorse and desire for reconciliation, and the star of Bethlehem, symbolizing hope… Am I correct?"_

_"Uh, yeah…" Prussia confirmed. He looked up to meet Austria's eyes at last. His face was burning, but he looked fiercely determined. "So?"_

_"So what?" Austria asked. "I don't know what you want me to say. Did someone ask you to give them to me?"_

_"What?" Prussia yelped. "No! What the hell, Young Master? The awesome me is no one's errand boy!"_

_Austria was silent for a moment. Then a change came over his face as if the most ludicrous of ideas had just occurred to him. His face paled. "You're… you're not making any sense…"_

_"God, are all aristocrats this fucking clueless?" Prussia raged. "What do I have to do to get through that thick skull of yours? Ok fine, I'll just have to explain it another way, one that your tiny little brain is sure to understand! Do you have a violin?"_

_"I'm afraid not," Austria said faintly. "But what do you intend to do with that?"_

_"I'm gonna explain through music," Prussia explained impatiently. "You like that kind of thing, right? If you don't have a violin, then what about a flute?"_

_Austria shook his head in silence._

_"Dammit…" Prussia mumbled. This was turning out to be a complete disaster. "Just… just a piano, then?"_

_"Yes."_

_Prussia thought through his options. Then it came to him; that song, the lyrics… it was perfect._

_"I'll just have to use that," he said resolutely._

_Prussia moved over to the piano and sat down on the bench. His face took on an expression of deep concentration as he poised his fingers over the keys. Austria leaned forward in anticipation to hear what kind of selection Prussia would grace him with. He hadn't been aware that Prussia even played piano. Prussia began with a flourish… a simple and amateurish rendition of Heart and Soul. The white-haired man winced as he played a wrong note when he tried to hit the key without using his injured finger, and then another one a few seconds later. Austria didn't know if he wanted to laugh or shout at him._

_"You… you came all this way to defile my ears with that unsophisticated American noise?" Austria asked, his snooty little nose in the air._

_"Shut up! It's the only thing I know how to play on the piano!" Prussia snapped, looking as if he wanted to cry. His face was so red that Austria wondered if he would have an aneurism. "Anyway… the words kind of… They're kind of perfect…"_

_Austria could do nothing but stare as Prussia continued to plunk away._

_"You do know the words, right?" Prussia asked. "I'm not singing."_

_Austria was loath to admit it, but he did know the words._

Heart and soul, I fell in love with you,

Heart and soul, the way a fool would do,

Madly...

Because you held me tight,

And stole a kiss in the night...

Heart and soul, I begged to be adored,

Lost control, and tumbled overboard,

Gladly...

That magic night we kissed,

There in the moon mist.

Oh! but your lips were thrilling, much too thrilling,

Never before were mine so strangely willing.

But now I see, what one embrace can do,

Look at me, it's got me loving you,

Madly...

That little kiss you stole,

Held all my heart and soul.

_Now that Prussia was asking him to consider these lyrics, there could be no mistake as to his intentions. Austria felt as though the rug had been jerked out from under his feet. Of all the nations who might have fallen for him, he never would have believed that it would be Prussia …_

_"You don't mean…" Austria rasped, his throat suddenly dry, "you're in love with…"_

_"…Jeez, took you long enough," Prussia mumbled. "You should be on your knees begging for forgiveness for putting me through all this."_

_"But that kiss was an accident!" he cried. "I merely turned my head at the wrong time! Surely you didn't think… It didn't mean anything!"_

_"I know it didn't," Prussia said in a voice scarcely more than a whisper. "It doesn't make any fucking sense to me, either, but I… Dammit, this is so unawesome… Anyway, that's how it is, ok? I can't control it, and believe me, I've tried."_

_Austria lapsed into silence again. He simply couldn't believe what he was hearing. This had to be some devious plot to… well, actually he couldn't really imagine what the benefit of playing such a game might be. Prussia had never bothered with schemes like this before; he'd always just charged in swinging his sword._

_"What are you hoping to gain from this?" Austria asked quietly._

_Prussia stopped playing at last. "Honestly, I'm not expecting anything except maybe that you'll try to throw me out on my ass. I… I know the last thing I deserve from you is a second chance."_

_"Let's say that we were discussing your ideal outcome," Austria said. "What would that be?"_

_"Ideally, I…" Prussia shrugged, his face still flushed. "Lunch would be nice. I know a place with some kickass Italian food. Then maybe… we could go from there?"_

_In other words, he was requesting a date. But Austria couldn't shake the feeling that Prussia was planning something sinister. He needed to look into his eyes. Austria went around the piano and Prussia looked up at him. His eyes were hopeful and determined, but the thing that stunned Austria the most was the amount of sincerity and love they held. Apparently, Prussia really did intend to romance him. They remained this way in silence for a few seconds that seemed to span an eternity._

_Eventually, Prussia stood and took Austria's hand. He began to bring it to his mouth, hesitating briefly to give Austria a chance to pull away if he didn't want this. Prussia knew that if he wanted to date him, he would have to show that his attitude toward him had changed, that he respected him and his wishes now. Austria made no move to take his hand away. Prussia kissed the back of it shyly._

_"Very well," Austria acquiesced. "I'll give you a chance."_

_Prussia smiled in a way so radically different from any other smiles that he had ever shown Austria before that Austria couldn't help being affected by it. He kissed Austria's hand again._

_"Just wait, Young Master," he said softly. "I'll be the awesomest boyfriend ever."_

_"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Austria warned. "I only agreed to accompany you to lunch. And I expect you to foot the bill."_

_"It'll start out as just lunch," Prussia said, regaining a little of his bravado now that he hadn't been shot down. "But it's only a matter of time before the awesome me has you completely charmed! Just see if I don't! Kesesese!"_

_And they did just do lunch that day. In spite of the frequent awkward silences that hung between them throughout the course of their meal, when Prussia produced two tickets to an orchestral concert for the following weekend, Austria didn't refuse his invitation._

Prussia finished his song and looked up at Austria at last. Austria was smiling warmly at him.

"That performance was almost as abysmal as the first one you ever gave me," he said fondly.

"I couldn't catch all that," Prussia replied with a smirk as he got up from the piano to take Austria into his arms, "but I'm pretty sure I just heard you say that my piano playing outdoes yours any day and it's making you hot."

They kissed and it took all Austria's willpower not to flinch away from Prussia's prickly stubble rubbing against his face. He maintained the kiss however, because he deeply appreciated all the trouble Prussia must have gone through to prepare this special surprise for him on their anniversary.

"At least you've gotten better at romancing me," Austria teased. "I don't know what I'd do if I came here to see all my cups shattered on the floor and you choking on a breath mint."

"Oh, shut up," Prussia mumbled, flushing slightly. "The awesome me would never be such a pathetic klutz."

"Of course not, how silly of me," Austria replied, kissing his forehead to avoid his prickly whiskers.

"Anyway, let's just eat," Prussia said quickly. "Man, this food looks awesome! Go on, Young Master, I can see that you're dying to praise my culinary genius."

"It does indeed look satisfactory," Austria admitted.

They sat down side by side on the wickerwork bench, the way they did for tea. Prussia served his lover first before helping himself.

"Thanks, Young Master," Prussia mumbled.

Austria looked over at him, puzzled. "What do you have to thank _me _for?"

Prussia's brow furrowed slightly. _For giving me a chance. For learning to love me even after what I did to you._ No, he could say it; such sappy words didn't suit him. He decided to just pretend he hadn't heard the question and indicated the quiche.

"You gotta try this, Young Master," Prussia urged. "I really outdid myself this time."

Austria dug into his slice of quiche as Prussia leaned over and planted a kiss on his temple.

_You hold my heart and soul._


	7. Chapter 7

When Prussia slammed the door behind him, it was with immense gratitude to be out of the harsh winter chill. He pulled off his gloves and made a little whining sound as he viewed his bright red numb fingers. In hindsight, perhaps waiting until after dinner when it was dark to shovel the driveway hadn't been his best plan ever. He suspected that his toes were in a state similar to that of his poor fingers. As soon as he bent over to untie his boots, he became even more acutely aware of his running nose. Prussia sniffled impatiently and hurried to remove his footwear so that he could finally get himself a tissue.

Upon wandering into the kitchen, he found Austria putting the finishing touches on two mugs of steaming Viennese hot chocolate and a plate of vanillekipferl and chocolate reisnerkrapferl cookies. If Prussia's nose hadn't still been half frozen, he would have delighted in the fact that the kitchen smelled just as he thought it should on Christmas Eve. Not only that, but Austria was looking gorgeous with his apron and pinned-back hair. Austria smiled when he saw Prussia and came over to kiss his slightly wind-chapped lips.

"Thank you for your hard work," Austria said as he removed his apron. "I hope you weren't too cold out there, though I did warn you that you'd be miserable shoveling after dark."

Prussia didn't appreciate the "I told you so" tone in his voice. He had just finished shoveling his driveway for him and he was going to be snooty about it? While he couldn't say it particularly surprised him, it was still annoying. Perhaps some punishment was in order. Without a word, he lifted up Austria's shirt and pressed his chilled cheek against Austria's warm belly and his freezing hands against his back. Austria squeaked in a rather undignified manner and squirmed in his grasp.

"L-let go, you fool!" he gasped. "You're freezing!"

"Just trying to share the love, Young Master," Prussia grinned.

He kissed Austria's stomach, moving upward slowly across the smooth skin until his head was under his shirt. Austria shivered, this time only partially due to the chill of Prussia's touch, when cool lips pressed against his nipple. Prussia reemerged from beneath Austria's shirt with a smug smirk.

"K-keep up that kind of behavior and I'll keep the snacks I intended for us to share all to myself," Austria scolded half-heartedly.

"Hey, these vanillekipferl are really good," Prussia said, ignoring Austria's warning and munching one of the cookies he'd stolen from the plate. "Sorry, you say something, Young Master?"

Austria huffed irritably at his boyfriend's antics and shooed him away from the cookies, occupying Prussia's hands with the mugs of hot chocolate. "Help me carry these," he ordered.

Prussia accepted the mugs obediently and followed Austria into the sitting room where Austria had built a blazing fire in the hearth which, along with the illuminated Christmas tree that stood off to one side of the fireplace, provided the only light in the room. The other side of the fireplace was occupied by a sizable window through which they could view the street outside if they wished. Snow-covered streetlights twinkled merrily at them through that window.

Prussia set down the mugs of hot chocolate so that he could push the loveseat closer to the fire. He stretched himself out on the couch and sighed happily when Austria settled into his lap. The white-haired man nuzzled a gentle kiss into Austria's hair before passing him his hot chocolate. Austria placed the plate of treats on his own lap so that they could both reach them. He held a chocolate cookie to his boyfriend's lips, smiling when Prussia drew it into his mouth and kissed his fingertip. Curled up on the couch with Austria with the lights turned way down low, with a warm fire to lounge by and his boyfriend's delicious handmade goodies; Prussia couldn't imagine any way he'd rather spend his Christmas Eve. The way the white and red lights from the tree caught Austria's violet eyes and made them sparkle enchantingly, the way the dancing firelight caressed the smooth contours of his skin, left Prussia speechless at his beauty. Surely only someone as awesome as him could be deserving of such a handsome lover.

Gilbird, seeing the fun that his master and master's mate were having, fluttered over to join them, perching on the armrest and waiting hopefully for one of them to drop some cookie crumbs. Austria broke off a little piece of a vanillekipferl and held it out to the little bird who snatched it up happily. As much as Prussia loved a good fight or making mischief, he thought he would gladly give both of those things up if he could just stay in this quiet, relaxed moment with Austria and his beloved little bird forever. The only thing that could make it better, he thought, would be if he and Austria could finish the evening with a candle-lit bath and some slow, sleepy sex.

"The Christmas season will be over after tomorrow, won't it?" Austria commented. "It sure went by quickly this year. I'm sorry we couldn't make it to the Christmas market a few more times. I know how you love them."

"Yeah, three times totally isn't enough," Prussia groused. "You better get me something pretty freaking awesome for Christmas to make up for it."

Austria smiled. "I think you'll be satisfied with your gifts," he said elusively, thinking of the newly expertly restored, tuned and polished flute, one that Prussia's beloved "Old Fritz" had played, which he had wrapped under the tree with Prussia's name on it. He was sure that the Playstation 3, ridiculously expensive high-quality beer and new laptop (Prussia had spilled ice cream on his old one) which he had had custom designed with a little bird on the lid would be similarly appreciated. Perhaps he had gone a bit overboard, but surely it was fine every once in a while to lavish gifts on the one he loved so deeply.

"Just wait'll you see what I got you!" Prussia replied. "You'll be singing my praises for weeks to come!"

He was confident that Austria would love the collections of first edition piano sheet music by Charles Mayer and Johannes Eccard (Prussian composers, of course), custom Italian-made suit for when he performed in his piano concerts, the handheld GPS (this was mostly as a joke…mostly), and the two fourth row and center tickets to see the Vienna Philharmonic. Prussia had tried to get that particular item for him a number of years ago and had been put on a thirteen-year waiting list. Personally, he couldn't believe that something so eye-wateringly boring could be so ridiculously popular, but he his patience had finally paid off and he had managed to obtain tickets this year. Prussia remembered the first and last time he had managed to get them for him. Austria had been moved to tears by the music and had been on a euphoric high for a good two weeks afterwards. He couldn't wait to see the look of joy on his face, especially when he saw those tickets.

"I look forward to it," Austria purred, tilting his head back to kiss Prussia's chocolate-flavored lips.

The fire crackled as one of the logs in the hearth collapsed, sending up a brief cloud of sparks.

"Hey, do you think it's too late to go visit West and Italy dressed up as Weihnachtsmann?" Prussia asked.

Austria smiled at the image of Prussia dressed up as the gift-delivering red-and-white- clad old man, knocking on his brother's door. He was pretty sure that Germany would stare for a moment, look down at his watch, realize it was almost eleven o'clock and promptly slam the door in his face. "Somehow, I can't imagine Germany would appreciate being visited at this time of night… though Italy might not mind."

"What's that smile about, Young Master?" Prussia asked with a grin. "Admit it, you were totally imagining how hot I'd look in a Weihnachtsmann costume!"

Austria snorted in a dignified manner. This was an action that not many could pull off successfully, but Austria had perfected the technique over his centuries of being a haughty aristocrat. "That outfit can hardly be considered flattering on anyone."

"I'd find a way to pull it off," Prussia bragged. "Because I'm freaking awesome."

"Besides, I think I'd rather see you as Christkindl," Austria said.

"Whoa, hey, the awesome me is way too masculine for that," Prussia bristled. "No way am I putting on a dress and some goldilocks wig."

Austria laughed quietly as he pictured Prussia in the costume and what Germany's reaction would be if his brother showed up on his doorstep looking like that. He decided not to mention the fact that Hungary had persuaded him on several occasions to act as the Christkindl for Holy Roman Empire and Italy back in the day. Despite his misgivings about his appearance, Hungary had assured him that he'd looked positively ravishing.

"Dammit, Young Master," Prussia moaned. "You just made me imagine West as the Christkindl. I hope you got me some brain bleach for Christmas."

"How is that _my _fault?" Austria demanded, wincing at the mental image.

"You're the one who brought up the Christkindl!" Prussia reminded him. "I was trying to think of someone who looked the part and West is already blond, so…"

"Now you've made _me _picture it!" Austria huffed.

"Aah, go away, creepy West angel," Prussia begged, shaking his head. "I know, I'll think of you as the Christkindl instead!"

This caught Austria so off guard that he blushed. "Wh-why would you picture me? I look nothing like her!"

"It's better than the alternative!" Prussia argued. "Dunno why it'd bother you so much. 'S not like I haven't seen you in more compromising positions."

Austria wisely kept his mouth shut, not wanting to do anything that might somehow lead to Prussia figuring out what he'd already donned that particular costume several times. He'd never hear the end of that. But it seemed that his guilty demeanor had betrayed him because Prussia was now studying him curiously.

"What's got you so on edge all of a sudden?" Prussia asked, a grin spreading slowly across his face. "Don't tell me you've actually done it!"

"Where on earth would you get such an utterly ridiculous notion?" Austria sniffed, but he couldn't quell his own blushing.

"You totally have!" Prussia crowed. "That's freaking priceless, Young Master! Go on, spill! There's gotta be a brilliant story behind this!"

Austria was silent for a moment. "Not particularly," he relented. "Hungary merely wished to give Italy and Holy Roman Empire a nice Christmas. I haven't the slightest idea why she was so eager to see me in such an embarrassing getup when she would have made a perfectly lovely Christkindl herself…"

He stopped when he realized that Prussia was shaking with silent laughter. "B-be quiet, fool! It's not funny!"

"Are you kidding?" Prussia cackled. "It's freaking hilarious! I bet you were one sexy beast in that golden dress! Maaan, I'm so glad I never got married!"

"We weren't married at that time," Austria mumbled, but Prussia was too busy laughing at him to pay any mind. Austria quieted his laughter by shoving a cookie in his mouth.

The finished their snacks off in lazy, contented silence. Austria yawned quietly and laid his head on Prussia's chest.

"Look," the musician said softly, "it's snowing."

"Aw, hell no!" Prussia snarled. "I just fucking shoveled!"

Austria chuckled quietly and kissed his throat. "Let's not think about that for now. It would be quite pretty if not for that unpleasant detail, wouldn't you agree?"

Prussia grumbled but made no further complaints for the time being. He supposed there was something calming about watching the snow fall on Christmas Eve with Austria, just as long as he didn't think about what a pain in the ass it would be when he finally had to shovel it. Prussia began to rub Austria's back absentmindedly. He wondered if he should suggest the bath now; Austria seemed like he was starting to get sleepy. Maybe just a few more minutes like this; he wasn't quite ready to move yet. He kissed the top of Austria's head.

"…I love you," Austria whispered.

"Huh?" Prussia said, starting slightly.

His response was more out of surprise than because he hadn't heard. The two of them rarely said "I love you" to each other; it simply wasn't their style. No matter how deeply in love they were, it was still a difficult thing for them to admit verbally. Usually they preferred to show rather than tell each other how they felt.

"You heard," Austria replied confidently.

Prussia hesitated out of embarrassment. "Yeah, I… M-me too… to you, obviously… That. You know… l-love or, or whatever." Dammit, he was blushing. And what was with that unintelligible reply? How uncool.

Austria smiled at Prussia uncharacteristically shy response. The white-haired man always became like that when he tried to put his sentiments into words. With his ear pressed against Prussia's chest, he could hear how his heart rate had sped up. It was charming in a clumsy, slightly immature sort of way. Secretly he hoped that it would never change. He yawned again. Prussia cleared his throat.

"Ah… I was kinda thinking it might be fun to take a bath with just candlelight," he proposed. "What do you think, Young Master?"

"In a moment," Austria said lethargically. "I just want to stay like this a little longer."

Prussia decided he wouldn't mind that either. He hugged his lover close and kissed him once more as they continued to watch the snow drift peacefully downwards.


	8. Chapter 8

Prussia sighed as he brushed his bangs out of his face and closed the lid of his laptop, having just finished updating his blog. A glance out the window told him that the outdoors was still gray and depressing and that the rain hadn't let up yet. The weather had been like this on and off for the past two weeks and it was kind of starting to get him down. He tended to feel sluggish and unmotivated when such weather persisted for a long period of time. It hadn't used to matter much when he'd still had his kingdom, but these days there was so little to occupy his mind. Maybe it was time he got a job after all, he thought. This notion floated languidly around his head for about five seconds before he dismissed it with a snort.

He set the laptop aside with a yawn, thinking that it might be time for a nap. That was when Austria wandered in, having just finished with the laundry. Austria smiled slightly when he saw him and came to sit beside him on the couch. Prussia curled his arms around him and kissed the soft skin along his neck, wondering if Austria might be persuaded to nap with him. The musician ran his slender fingers through Prussia's hair affectionately, but paused, thoughtfully examining a lock that hung over the top of Prussia's ear.

"Your hair's getting rather long, isn't it?" Austria noted.

"You think?" Prussia asked with another yawn. "I guess it has kinda been in my face for a few days."

"Why don't you let me give you a trim?" Austria suggested, touching a light kiss to the top of Prussia's head.

"Can we take a nap after?" Prussia asked.

Austria considered this proposal briefly. "I suppose I wouldn't mind that."

Prussia got to his feet, helped Austria up and stretched. "Let's do this thing, then."

Austria went to get his scissors and a chair for Prussia to sit in while the white-haired man retrieved a newspaper to read while he was getting his hair cut. The two of them gathered in the master bathroom. Austria turned on the warm water in the tub and took a towel from the cabinet.

"Put your head under the faucet," he instructed.

Prussia got his hair wet and sat on the side of the bathtub while Austria shampooed him. Austria's long, soapy fingers slipped into his hair and began to massage gently, sending a little shiver of pleasure down Prussia's spine. Austria smiled at his lover's obvious enjoyment. He was reminded of a puppy who was enjoying a good scratching behind the ears. Austria indulged him by slowing his quick and efficient movements and rubbing his scalp in unhurried circular strokes, drawing a quiet hum of approval from him. Once he had finished, he washed away the shampoo and handed Prussia the towel so that he could give his hair a quick rub down, then ushered him over to the chair.

"Just leave the back like it is," Prussia requested with a grin as he sat. "The awesome me wants to grow an awesome mullet."

"That would be positively horrifying…" Austria said, his face a picture of one deeply disturbed. "Please tell me you're not honestly considering that!"

"What? It would be hot, don't you think?" Prussia asked. "I'd curl it every day and let it flutter majestically in the wind and turn heads wherever I go. People everywhere will be talking: 'who's that sexy beast and why is that mullet so irresistible?' And you can have the honor of announcing to the awed masses that I'm your boyfriend. You'll be popular by extension!"

Austria looked like he had just been told on good authority that the world would be ending tomorrow. "That's… The thought alone is nightmare-inducing. No, that's completely out of the question! I won't allow it!"

Prussia laughed heartily. "It was a joke, Young Master! Man, you should've seen your face! You looked like you were about to have a heart attack! Kesesese! Like I would ever really grow one of those ugly-ass things!"

"Oh, be quiet, you fool," Austria huffed, flicking him in the ear in playful punishment as he wrapped a large towel around his shoulders in order to keep the trimmings off of his clothes.

Still chuckling, Prussia took up the newspaper that he had laid on the counter and shook it open as Austria began to comb his hair.

"Let's see what those other lamewads are up to," Prussia commented, piecing through the paper until he found the international section. He perused it in silence for a moment.

"Is there anything of interest?" Austria asked as he snipped off the first lock of Prussia's hair.

"Hmm… Oh god, listen to this one," Prussia said with a smirk in his voice. "'On the Anniversary of Her Death, Ad Depicts Princess Diana in Her Undies, new Chinese underwear line gets Brits' knickers in a twist.'"

"What on earth…?" Austria mumbled, pretending his interest hadn't been piqued at the mention of underwear. He knew Prussia would tease him if he caught wind of that; he always laughed that Austria had always been all about the underwear.

"Looks like ol' China's finally getting some payback at England for that Opium War business," Prussia commented. "Putting England's precious princess in that kind of ad… I never thought I'd say this about China, of all people, but that dude's got some balls, huh? Check it out; there's a picture of the ad right here."

Austria clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "I'm surprised at China. What exceedingly poor taste. On the anniversary of her death and everything. That's certainly adding insult to injury."

"Are you kidding, Young Master?" Prussia sniggered. "It's hilarious! I'll bet England's pissing himself with rage! And look, China's trying to cover his ass by saying he was just trying to compliment her taste in underwear and didn't mean anything by it. How the hell would that guy know anything about that in the first place? Shit, Young Master, I think we've just discovered a totally crack-addled scandal!"

"Honestly, you're such a child sometimes," Austria scolded mildly. "How would you feel if someone, let's say… Poland for example, published an ad of Fredrick the Great in his underpants on the day of his death?"

Prussia's brows furrowed and his face pinked angrily as he considered the scenario Austria had described. "He wouldn't dare," he growled.

"There, you see?" Austria said, trimming carefully around Prussia's ear. "It's not so funny when it's _your _beloved royalty, is it?"

"Hmph," Prussia grunted, turning back to his paper again, looking distinctly annoyed. "What else do we have here… Ugly Dance World Cup over at West's place. Figures West would host something like that." He laughed. "I bet he'd take home the gold metal if he wasn't such a stick in the mud. I don't think I've ever seen a shittier dancer in my entire life. I wonder if Italy would still look at him the same way if he'd seen it."

Austria raised his eyebrows. "I wasn't aware that Germany danced at all."

"Sure he does," Prussia grinned. "It's just a matter of getting enough alcohol in him. We should invite him to a party sometime, get him nice and schnockered and ask him to put on a show. It's something everyone should see at least once before they die."

"I'll pass," Austria said dryly.

"You and I should form an ugly dance team for next year," Prussia cackled. "You look all innocent and shy, but I bet you could really get your freak on, huh, Young Master?"

"I'd sooner fill my piano with cow dung," Austria replied unhesitatingly.

"Some people just don't know how to have fun," Prussia tsked, looking for another interesting story. "Dude… Sweden and Norway are investigating claims that American embassies were spying on them."

"That foolish child," Austria remarked in reference to America, shaking his head slightly, "always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong."

"Who the hell would want to spy on Sweden?" Prussia asked, shivering at the thought. "I can never decide if that punk has guts or if he's just an idiot."

"What did America have to say for himself?" Austria asked. "I'm curious to hear how he's justifying this."

"He says it was because his embassies were bombed in Kenya and Tanzania a few years ago and that he's doing it within the bounds of the local law," Prussia summarized. "Pfft, like that excuse is gonna fly. Sweden'll eat that brat alive. That guy has no mercy."

"Isn't that just your bias from the Great Northern War speaking?" Austria asked. "I really don't think Sweden's the monster you make him out to be."

"Are you kidding?" Prussia demanded incredulously. "That guy eats babies dipped in chick blood for breakfast! You just have to look at that face of his to know he's evil!"

Austria rolled his eyes, knowing that he was fighting a losing battle. Nothing he said was going to change Prussia's mind.

"You think there's something more to this story?" Prussia asked, squinting suspiciously at the page as though it was deliberately concealing something from him.

"Tilt your head to the left, please. What do you have in mind?" Austria inquired cautiously, bringing Prussia's hairline up on the right side.

"I dunno, maybe America's got the hots for those guys," Prussia suggested.

Austria scissors hesitated in disbelief. "As interesting a theory as it is, I'm afraid you're overreaching. There's no evidence of that."

"No way, Young Master, it totally makes sense!" Prussia insisted. "Why else would you spy on someone?"

"Perhaps to get your hands on some military secrets?" Austria suggested. "Or to make sure the other party isn't plotting against you? General nosiness? Those are just the ones I can think up off the top of my head."

"I saw America _looking _at Sweden during the last world meeting," Prussia said. "Explain that!"

"Sweden was giving a presentation," Austria replied in exasperation. "You're just desperate to stir up some intrigue. Besides, the amount of unresolved sexual tension surrounding America and England is enough to choke a horse. I doubt if his tiny little attention span can be directed on more than one object or person at a time."

"Maybe," Prussia relented, "but my theory's more interesting."

"Kindly close your mouth or you're going to get hair clippings in it," Austria warned.

Prussia shut his mouth grudgingly and lowered the paper as Austria began to trim his bangs. Austria worked slowly, carefully, taking his time so as not to make any mistakes. He wanted Prussia to look nice, and not only because his lover's looks reflected on him. Prussia had closed his eyes to keep the hair out and looked quite relaxed to have Austria working on him. A comfortable silence hung between them, occupied only by the quiet clipping sounds of the scissors and the soft melody of the persistent rain against the roof.

Having finished Prussia's bangs, he moved around to the opposite side and began to work on the back. The comb ran slowly and gently through Prussia's hair as Austria lined up the ends and snipped off the excess. Prussia didn't open his eyes or take up his paper again. Instead he let himself focus on Austria's gentle fingers and the way they sifted through his hair, occasionally brushing his scalp or his cheek as he worked. He imagined the alluring look of concentration on his lover's beautiful face as he focused all his attention only on Prussia. The white-haired man almost wanted to open his eyes so that he could witness it firsthand, but couldn't quite bring himself to do so. Now that his eyes were closed and the only things that registered in his consciousness were the muted sounds of the rain and Austria's scissors and the sensation of those graceful hands applying themselves to his hair, Prussia could feel himself becoming drowsy again.

"There," Austria said about twenty minutes later, a note of satisfaction in his voice. "You're finished."

Prussia didn't stir; he didn't even lift his head.

"…Prussia?" Austria asked quietly.

Slow, deep breathing was the only response he got. Austria smiled gently and crossed around to stand before Prussia. The white-haired man was fast asleep, his chin resting on his chest in a way that didn't look particularly comfortable. Austria brushed his newly shortened bangs aside lovingly and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to Prussia's lips. His lover stirred at last, his eyelids fluttering sleepily in a way that made Austria's heart swell with affection.

"Sorry to wake you," he whispered sincerely, kissing his lips again and removing the towel from around his shoulders. "I just need to rinse the loose clippings from your hair."

Prussia mumbled groggily, some nonsense that Austria couldn't make out, and rubbed his tired red eyes as he got up from his chair and headed over to the tub. Austria turned on the warm water and Prussia stuck his head under. Once Austria had finished drying Prussia's hair, Prussia latched onto him and nuzzled his face into the crook of his lover's neck. Austria smiled softly as he returned the embrace, trying not to laugh as Prussia's warm breath tickled his skin.

"Naptime now?" Prussia yawned.

"Yes, I believe I did agree to that, didn't I?" Austria acquiesced.

Prussia tugged off his shirt and stumbled blearily out of his jeans as Austria undid the buttons on his shirt and removed his belt. Once they were both in their underclothes, Prussia wrapped himself around Austria again and collapsed onto the bed with him. Austria allowed his lover to lay his head on his chest as he pulled the covers up to Prussia's shoulders and curled his arms around him. Prussia's legs intertwined with his and a warm, calloused hand found its way beneath his undershirt to stroke the soft skin stretched over Austria's ribs. Austria shivered at the gentle tickling sensation of Prussia's fingertips on such a sensitive area of his body, earning him some slow, sleepy kisses along his neck. The musician returned them in Prussia's newly trimmed, shampoo-scented hair.

"Love ya," Prussia mumbled. The way he said it, softly, his usual embarrassment in uttering the phrase melting away now that he was more asleep than awake, filled Austria's chest with a pleasant warmth.

"And I you," he replied just as quietly.

If only Prussia had managed to stay awake just a minute longer, he could have enjoyed Austria's shyly hummed rendition of Brahms's Lullaby but his lover's warmth and closeness allowed him almost instantly to drift off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: **All the news stories here are true current events. I tried to pick fairly non-offensive ones but I'm sorry if anyone is offended by the Princess Diana one. You can find more info on these stories at these sites (remove spaces):

Princess Diana story: http :/ /today. msnbc. msn. com/id/38958169/ns/today-today_people

Ugly dance story: http :/ / www .cnn. com/2010/WORLD/europe/ /index. html

American embassies' spying story:

http: / /www. google. com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iyEXEhJoRqf9_ Qg0tL3bIb22M7MA? docId=CNG. 8ba8ced21 f30df2889669e b02489ca62.271


	9. Chapter 9

Prussia yawned and stretched as he got up from his chair.

"Maaan, that was BORING!" he said loudly as the G8 meeting disbursed. "West, you totally suck at leading meetings. That was so lame, my eyeballs almost fell out in sheer boredom."

"The purpose of the meeting is not to be entertaining, Brother," Germany replied, looking a bit annoyed. "It is to discuss important international issues that concern all of us. You were the one who insisted on coming in the first place. You're not obligated like the rest of us."

"You're so not cute, West," Prussia scoffed. "The awesome me represents East Germany now; I'm entitled to be here, same as you."

"Make up your mind!" Germany said in exasperation. "True, you technically represent East Germany, but you only take on the duties that it entails when it suits you. Either be East Germany or don't."

"Isn't it fine to let him pretend like he still matters?" Russia butted in with a chilly smile. "It's all he has left in his pitiful life, right?"

"Hey, shut the hell up, fuckwad!" Prussia snapped. "No one was talking to you so go back to your fucking igloo before your icicle dick melts off!"

"Brother, please," Germany said. "Russia, don't you think that was a little below the belt?"

Russia maintained his frigid smile but said nothing. In his mind, he was perfectly justified; Prussia's rudeness during his presentation had been completely unprovoked. The white-haired man had booed, snorted derisively, laughed, yawned loudly, folded paper airplanes and even ripped off a couple of farts to show his disdain for Russia's opinion. If Prussia thought he was going to get away with it without Russia even saying anything, he was sadly mistaken.

Germany sighed and headed for the door. "I have to make a few copies of these documents. Please wait for me in the car, Brother."

"Sure, West," Prussia agreed.

He gathered up his jacket and his mess of papers. Just as he was shoving those papers sloppily into his folder, Russia spoke again.

"I hear you're seeing Austria these days," he commented as if he were discussing the matter with a friend he hadn't seen in a while. "How is he doing? You're not still beating him up and invading his vital regions, are you? Those kinds of relationships aren't healthy, you know."

"What I do with Austria is none of your fucking business!" Prussia snarled. "What the hell do you know, anyway? Just because you torture everyone you've ever been with until the sight of your face makes them sick, doesn't mean we all do!"

Russia's eyebrow twitched as his hand slipped into his coat to grip his pipe, but his smile never faded. Prussia wasn't to be intimidated; that comment about Austria had pushed him right to the edge of his patience and he was just waiting for the next comment that would give him an excuse to punch the bastard right in the face. He stood, waiting, his eyes blazing. It seemed that Russia recognized the silent challenge because he shrugged with forced nonchalance.

"Do what you can with him now," Russia suggested smoothly. "It won't be long until you all belong to me. I wonder if Austria will scream and cry as pathetically as you did back then when I break him. Then again, he's probably so used to being violated by now that he wouldn't even—"

A more mature person would have realized that Russia's words were mean-spirited but ultimately harmless; a childish way of getting back at Prussia for the embarrassment and uncalled-for rudeness that Prussia had shown him during his presentation, his anger at Prussia's previous personal attack causing him to take it too far. Prussia was not a mature person. He had launched himself at Russia and had his hands around the taller man's throat before he could even finish his final comment.

* * *

"Has the bleeding stopped yet, Brother?" Germany asked, not looking at him and keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the road.

Prussia checked the tissue he had been holding over his nose and saw that the blood had dried. "Hn."

"I can't imagine what you must have been thinking to start that fight," Germany muttered for about the tenth time. "Who knows what it'll take to repair our relations. We're ione nation/i now. That means that this wasn't just a fight between you and Russia; I've been dragged into it, too. Please think more carefully before you act in the future."

"For the last time, West, I didn't start it," Prussia growled sullenly. "Sorry you had to get involved, but you wouldn't have let it go either if he'd been saying that shit to you."

"Just what did he say?" Germany asked. "You still haven't told me."

Prussia's expression darkened even further, though it was hard to tell with the brilliant black eye that was blooming on his face, his swollen nose and his split lip. "I don't wanna talk about it… Just remembering pisses me off."

Germany decided to drop the matter as they pulled into Austria's driveway. Prussia let himself out in silence and made his way stiffly to the door, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt down over his face. Germany pulled away as Prussia eased open the front door as quietly as he could. If Prussia was lucky, he could sneak into the bathroom to treat himself without Austria seeing. At least then he wouldn't look so awful when he finally had to face him and admit what he'd done. Unfortunately, Prussia hadn't opened the door quietly enough because he heard the piano music stop and a few seconds later Austria came to greet him.

"Welcome home," he said with a warm smile. "How was the… Prussia… what happened to your lip?"

_Fuck. _Before Prussia could do anything, Austria had grabbed the hood of his sweatshirt and pulled it back, revealing the full extent of Prussia's injuries. His face went pale, his eyes becoming wide and round like golf balls.

"What…what on earth happened?" he asked, looking horrified.

The white-haired man shrugged and rubbed his nose in an act of feigned indifference, looking carefully over the top of Austria's head. He cursed under his breath when his hand came away with a streak of blood on it.

"Come to the bathroom so we can get you cleaned up before you get blood on the floor," Austria ordered.

Prussia allowed Austria to lead him to the bathroom where Austria retrieved the white first aid kit from the cabinet beneath the sink. Austria sat down on the closed lid of the toilet while Prussia seated himself silently on the edge of the nearby bathtub, pinching his nose in a wad of toilet paper to stop the bleeding. The dark-haired man wet a large cotton ball with antiseptic and dabbed at the gash on Prussia's forehead. Prussia hissed in pain and jerked away impulsively.

"Hold still," Austria scolded gently. "And tell me what happened."

"Got hit by a bus," Prussia lied weakly.

"A bus." Austria paused in his disinfecting to stare at him in disbelief. He lifted up Prussia's shirt to see if it was hiding any more injuries and found mildly bruised ribs on one side and a long but shallow patch of rug burn on one of his forearms, and nothing else. "Either this bus drove through a building with carpets to get to you and was very careful to hit you only in the face or you're lying to me."

"Tiny little fucker," Prussia mumbled, wincing as Austria's cotton ball came back to dab at the gash again. "Fast, though. I bent down to pick up the pen I dropped in the conference room and it nailed me."

"Prussia… please, spare me the juvenile stories, just this once," Austria said seriously, refusing to take up their usual verbal sparring game. "Naturally when someone I care for so deeply comes home to me in such poor shape, I will need to know why. You can understand that, can't you?"

Prussia felt trapped. He loved Austria and wanted to be honest with him, but he had a feeling Austria wouldn't be satisfied until he had the whole story. That would mean repeating Russia's cruel words. He just wanted to put this incident behind him as quickly as possible; thinking about what that bastard had said to him made him feel physically ill. Austria placed a bandage over the wound on his forehead and began to tend to the rug burn, waiting patiently for Prussia to spill the details.

"I… got in a fight," Prussia said quietly. "With Russia... I won, though!"

Austria frowned disapprovingly as he dug out some tweezers from the first aid kit and used them to pluck a little ball of dirt and fibers from Prussia's rug burn.

"Ow, fuck!" Prussia gasped, pulling away. "Easy with the tweezing, Young Master!"

"I'm sorry," Austria said. "I'm trying to be as gentle as possible… This is going to sting a bit, too, I'm afraid."

He held up a fresh antiseptic-soaked cotton ball.

Prussia inhaled sharply through clenched teeth at the ensuing sting as the cotton ball was pressed against his wound. "Shit, shit, _shit_, that hurts! Are you trying to fix me or kill me?"

"Disinfecting your injuries will not kill you," Austria assured him. "Quite the opposite, in fact. Now, just what was it that you fought about? And what do you mean, 'you won'?"

"Last man standing wins, right?" Prussia asked.

Austria looked into his eyes uneasily. "Do you mean to tell me that you rendered him unconscious?"

Prussia shrugged again. "Something like that."

Austria shook his head as he bandaged the rug burn. "I… wish I could say I was surprised at you, but I'm not. What did he do to make you so angry? Please tell me you didn't just attack him out of the blue."

"Of course not," Prussia replied, looking hurt. "I may enjoy a good fight, but I'm not a raging psycho. You know that, right, Young Master?

"Right, of course you're not," Austria muttered a bit sheepishly. "I apologize."

"And that guy totally started it!" Prussia added. "I was just minding my own business, talking to West, when that fat bastard starts running his mouth off!"

Austria wanted to say that he highly doubted that Prussia was as innocent as he was making himself out to be in all of this, but for the time being he remained silent.

"Anyway, I… I couldn't let him off the hook after what he said," Prussia muttered, his fists clenching angrily at the memory. "Even if I did all that stuff during his presentation to piss him off, that was just… There's a lot of shit between me and him, but he had no business dragging… Us hating each other's guts has nothing to do with…"

The white-haired man's voice petered out and his face reddened as he swallowed around the beginnings of a lump in his throat. Austria was frozen in surprise. He had no memory of ever having seen Prussia so distressed. Whatever Russia had said, it must have been really horrible. Admittedly, this made him even more curious about what had gone on. It seemed obvious that he should try to offer some sort of comfort, but he wasn't sure how to proceed. He laid his hand on Prussia's awkwardly.

"What did he say, Prussia?" Austria asked quietly.

Prussia swallowed again, willing his tone to be steady. "He…"

His fists clenched tighter in the fabric of his pant legs. He lowered his voice to a whisper, hoping that it would make any instability in his voice less obvious. "He said… he would break you… That… that he would make it j-just like it was in the old days with us… only between you and h-him… and… and worse than that even…"

Austria was startled and disturbed by these words. "Russia really said he would do those things to me? But… that doesn't make any sense; our relations have been fairly decent lately."

"The guy's fucking nuts," Prussia croaked. "You can't trust him."

"I'm sure he only said those things to upset you," Austria surmised. "He didn't mean it. Russia spends a lot of time in isolation and because of it he tends to not know how to handle social situations very well. He was probably just angry about whatever you said to him and went overboard."

"You're… you're sticking up for him?" Prussia asked incredulously, his voice cracking. His head jerked up to look at Austria out of impulse, but he quickly caught himself and lowered it again embarrassedly so that his lover wouldn't see his distraught face.

"Of course not," Austria said. "There was no excuse for him to say those things and if he's making those kinds of horrendous comments, I shall need to consult my boss about possibly rethinking our relations with him. I was merely trying to put you at ease."

There was an uncomfortable silence between them. Austria could see that Prussia was trembling and he reached out to him uncertainly.

"If it had been someone else saying that shit, I… I still would have kicked their ass," Prussia admitted in a choked voice. "But I wouldn't be so… If… if he was serious… If that f-fucking bastard r-really came and tried to… to do that… What could I do about it? …He… he wasted me back then, and that was when I still h-had an army… He c-completely destroyed my awesome kingdom… N-now I'm just one guy… If he decided… that he wanted to t-take away the only th-thing I h-have that still matters, I… "

"Prussia…" Austria began softly. He cupped Prussia's face in his hands, intending to tilt it upward so that he could reassure him while looking him straight in the eye, but Prussia pulled away as if Austria's touch had burned him, his pale cheeks burning brilliantly red with acute embarrassment.

"Don't look," he mumbled. "Th-the awesome me doesn't… want to show you such a pathetic face."

"I don't care how pathetic a face you make," Austria assured him. "If you're upset, you can express it without worrying that it will affect how I feel for you. I assure you that won't change."

He tried to tilt Prussia's face upwards again, but Prussia jerked away once more.

"Please!" he barked, his voice harsh with mortification and suppressed emotion. Prussia took a deep shuddering breath and released it slowly. "Don't…"

Austria lowered his hands, immediately feeling guilty for the added discomfort he had caused his lover. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

Prussia sniffled, continuing to breathe deeply, his face red with shame as he tried to get himself under control. It wasn't working.

"Is there anything I can do…?" Austria asked uncertainly.

For a moment, Prussia neither replied nor even acknowledged that he'd heard him. Then he reached for Austria hesitantly and pulled him close, holding him awkwardly as if it was their first embrace. Austria reciprocated the contact, letting Prussia bury his swollen, battered face in his chest. The dark-haired man kissed the top of his head and began to gently stroke his hair, mindful of the goose-egg-shaped lump on the back of his skull. Prussia shuddered violently in his arms and Austria heard a stifled sob fight its way from his lips. Austria kissed him again, rubbing his back soothingly. He noted sympathetically that poor Prussia was so embarrassed by his display that even his ears and the back of his neck were scarlet.

"Shh, it's ok," Austria whispered. "Nothing is going to happen to me. It's alright."

Prussia felt awful. Not only was he being forced to face the reality that he wasn't capable of protecting the one he loved in the event that something should happen, but he was sitting here crying about it like a stupid girl. _Man up! _he snapped at himself. The _awesome Prussia doesn't cry and cower like a baby! I may not have my army any more, but I still have my pride! I'll die before I give that _or _the young master up!_ But no matter how harshly he scolded himself to straighten up and dry his eyes, the tears simply wouldn't stop and the warmth and comfort he found in Austria's arms kept him right where he was.

"F-fucking pathetic," Prussia mumbled.

"It's ok once in a while, isn't it? It's impossible for anyone to be awesome all the time," Austria pointed out, kissing the top of his head again. "I'm perfectly willing to pretend it didn't happen if you like."

"If that f-fat bastard comes anywhere near you," the white-haired man sniffled, "I'll beat the shit out of him…! I… I won't let anything happen to you! Not even… n-not even a freaking paper cut, dammit!"

Austria smiled softly. "Impossible," he declared fondly. "What a foolish notion. Cute, but foolish."

"I mean it, Young Master," Prussia insisted.

"I know," he whispered. "Thank you."

Austria gave him a bit more time to collect himself, then kissed him one more time and offered him a tissue. Prussia sniffled again and gingerly wiped his nose and eyes, trying not to aggravate the bruises as he did so. When he had finished, Austria helped him to his feet.

"Come now, I have a gel ice-pack in the freezer that will help bring down the swelling in your face."

Prussia squeezed Austria's hand determinedly as he led him into the kitchen. It was true that as he was now, he couldn't hope to defeat the whole Russian army if Russia decided to make good on his threat but Prussia still had a card he could play. Even if he wasn't his own nation anymore, he was still half of one. He decided that when Austria went to work tomorrow, so would he. From now on, he was going to take his role as East Germany more seriously. Sure, working was a drag, but it was a position that carried some amount of power. It would undoubtedly be a useful weapon to have in his arsenal if he really did need to come to Austria's aid militarily someday.

Prussia kept his head bowed as he accepted the ice pack from Austria and put it over the injured side of his face. Austria bound it in place with some cloth bandages. Once it was in place, Prussia pulled Austria close again and rested his cheek, which was flushed in spite of the ice pack, on his shoulder.

"None of that stuff just now happened," Prussia mumbled.

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're even talking about," Austria assured him with a small smile.

"The part where I was unawesome, I mean," Prussia clarified. "The part where I promised I'd beat the shit out of anyone that tries to hurt you definitely happened."

Austria chuckled quietly, not minding the affectionate touch of pink that had colored his cheeks. "Understood."

* * *

**A/N: **The end. For real this time. Was that conclusion ok? I had a bit of trouble with it, but I don't think it was too bad. Anyway, thank you all very much for reading and I hope you enjoyed doing that as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to do some more PrussiaxAustria in the future, so keep an eye out for me, ok?


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